Tooi no Koe (とおいのこえ)
by SasukeTanteiPHlover
Summary: Shinichi and Kaito were cousins and lived happy lives together...until Kaito's father died. Then, everything fell apart. Kaito moved away, and their lives took separate paths. Shinichi became a famous detective and vowed to find the ones who had killed his uncle. Kaito becomes KID for the same cause. What happens when their destinies collide and the fates assemble?
1. Chapter 1 Missing you

**A/N:Finally I am able to put up this long-awaited story of mine! I will be working on fourteen stories, so I may not update this constantly, but I will do as much as I can! First, this is NOT a yaoi story, okay? This is Shinichi and Kaito being related as cousins, so there is no gay pairing intended. I do not think Conan will be in this story, but I will have to see how things work out. Second, Shinichi and Kaito are not brothers, so they don't have the same family name, kay? All right, as long as **_**THAT'S **__settled, let's get on to the story. _

* * *

_Chapter 1 Missing you..._

* * *

Once upon a time, two innocent young boys lived in a peaceful environment that wasn't full of hatred, and their lives hadn't been torn apart by hatred, murder, and the criminal world. It was a time when the world had reached out to them with open arms and hugged them instead of pushing them away and leaving them to suffocate in a world so cold like it did many years later. They weren't full of misery then, were they? They had always had each other and would laugh and play together.

A long time ago, Kudou Shinichi and Kuroba Kaito were happy. A long time ago, they lived so close together that Shinichi only had to walk out his door and Kaito would be there and they would walk together to his house to stay and play for a while with his father and his mother. Even if they wanted to, they could never return to those tranquil days.

The cruel hands of fate had torn them apart and set them down different paths. But eventually, their paths will cross again, and when this happens, how will they react? Fate is a cruel monster, and she is not kind to those who cross her, but to her favorites she tends to give them more curses than blessings. Kudou Shinichi was one of her favorites, and she tended to give him more burdens than the average human could hope to withstand.

He was full of intelligence and determination and most of all, he had a pure heart. He was a brilliant young man who would be forced to overcome incredible odds by the time he would grow up. He had no inkling of what awaited him, and maybe if he did, it wouldn't change anything, anyway. Fate was unable to be changed or reversed, and we are all just pawns in its hands.

* * *

It was a moonlit night. The moon shone brightly over the land, casting its splendid light over the sleepy land and its inhabitants. Many of them were fast asleep, anticipating another day of work or school. Very few had serious burdens weighing them down; ones so intense that they would cause them to lose their way in life and fall by the wayside. Or if they did, they didn't bother to voice it and kept on smiling to the very end.

One such person was asleep in his house, dreaming of many things that should not be haunting such a young man. Yet this boy was forced to mature much faster than most his age, and as such he understood more than the average person, but was forced to suppress his intelligence all the time, for fear of being called arrogant.

Any person who looked at this boy would probably wonder why a boy so young would be covered with sweat. He was having a nightmare, which was a little unusual for this particular boy, since he usually didn't have nightmares. After all, he didn't see death all the time; however he did experience the terrible feeling of having to keep something he did every night secret from everyone else.

Seventeen-year old Kuroba Kaito tried to shake off the nightmares that would soon be wracking his frame. However, it was no use, as these were ones he was unable to control-these weren't lucid dreams after all. The nightmare began, whether he liked it or not. It started out ordinary enough for his tastes. But they all did.

* * *

_He was walking somewhere down the street. It didn't feel like a dream; he was not young like in most of them. He was his ordinary high school self. Suddenly, he felt someone tug on his sleeve. His eyes widened as he turned around to see Shinichi Kudo staring at him. A nine-year old Shinichi Kudo was staring at him. _

_He stared at him with accusing eyes. _

_"Shinichi, what are you doing here? I thought you would have grown up by now..." He trailed off._

_"You're a liar." _

_"What do you mean?" Kaito asked, staring at him as though he were nuts. _

_"You're a liar. You failed to save your father." Shinichi continued on slowly. _

_"I did the best I could, Kudo!" He cried. "He was murdered, for god's sake! You honestly think I could have done something about that-"_

_"You could have done more than you did, Cousin. Because you did nothing, I had to get torn apart from you. Because of you, it tore our friendship apart." He glared at him, and suddenly a gunshot rang through the air. Kudou Shinichi fell to the ground, covered with blood and dying. He stared at him with accusing eyes. "It's all your fault..." _

_Suddenly, everyone Kaito knew was surrounding him. Jiisan, Aoko, his mother, the rotting corpse of his father, his Aunt Yukiko and Uncle Yusaku were all around him, pointing accusing fingers at him. All chanted the same accursed words: _

_"It's your fault..." _

_"It's your fault..." _

_"It's your fault..." The phantoms taunted, all coming towards Kaito slowly, menacingly. _

_"No. You're wrong. It's not my fault. He was murdered. I __**didn't **__kill him!" Kaito protested. _

_"Yes, you did." His Aunt Yukiko replied sternly. _

_"I told you that you are a murderer, Kaito!" His childhood friend, Nakamori Aoko, taunted. _

_"Didn't I tell you that being Kaitou Kid came with a bunch of consequences? You'd better be ready to go to jail now!" Akako Koizumi said suavely. _

_Behind him came Inspector Nakamori and his men. There were no friendly smiles on their faces, however; instead they were grinning maniacally. Inspector Nakamori gave him a cold stare. _

_"What the heck's wrong with you guys?" Kaito yelped. _

_"You betrayed me, Kaito. You don't deserve to live." He said. Suddenly, he fell, dead, and behind him appeared a man dressed all in black. Kaito's eyes widened. That was Snake, wasn't it? _

_"We meet again, Kaitou Kid. I have come to deliver some news to you." _

_"What sort of news?" Kaito asked suspiciously. _

_"You have to die." Snake then put a pistol to Kaito's head and pulled the trigger. _

_"Nooooo!" _

* * *

Kuroba Kaito shot up in his bed. His blue-violet eyes were wide in terror as he wiped his sweaty forehead with one hand. "Why on earth did I have that nightmare? I don't usually have that many nightmares. Could it be...because of my heist the other day? Well, Saguru was no more annoying than usual. I highly doubt that _HE _would cause me to have nightmares."

He thought over it for a moment. Why was Shinichi in his dream? He paused. Did he really want to open that sensitive wound up again? He hadn't heard anything from Shinichi for years. The last time was probably when he was around ten. Sure, he had gotten letters and telephone calls from him from time to time, but he hadn't gotten a call from him in what, five years? The last thing (until recently, that is) he had heard about the Kudo family was that Kudo Yukiko had moved overseas, and thus there ended any hopes of him ever getting to see his cousin again.

He figured that the boy had moved overseas with his parents. Until yesterday had changed everything he had previously thought he knew about that.

* * *

_He was watching the news, and nothing exciting was on, so Kaito was just about to change the channel. However, when a news reporter came on, his interest was piqued for some reason. _

_"Murder is a horrible crime that all of us hear about and deal with at some point in our lives. Usually, we hope it doesn't happen to people we know. Unfortunately, here is someone who is acquainted with death at every turn. However, he doesn't seem to mind it so much." _

_**An undertaker? **_

_Kaito chuckled inwardly. _

_"Here is someone who is known as the Modern-Day Holmes! The great detective of the East will now speak-" _

_Suddenly, there was new footage. He heard a voice. _

_"How was he killed? Did you do it, Okage-san?" A police inspector asked. _

_"No, it wasn't Okage-san. It was someone else, you see. Someone whose hatred and desire for vengeance has blinded them to the truth. This person's name was...Masaki Takenaka-san. You were the one who murdered your husband, Keiichi Takenaka-san, right?" _

_"Yes." The woman said. "Why is that important?" _

_The voice scoffed. "__**Why **__is that important? You took a life, and because of that, your life will never be the same again. You murdered him, and now your hands are stained with blood that will never be washed away. Take her away, Megure-keibu." The male voice said, sounding weary but stern at the same time. As the police hauled away the woman, the reporter's eyes gleamed in excitement at someone over in the corner. _

_"He sounds awfully young." Kaito remarked to himself. _

_"The high school detective-" _

_"Wow, he is pretty young. Probably around my age." Kaito said, again to himself. _

_"The high school detective, Kudou Shinichi is here! Kudo-san, would you like to stop for an interview!" _

_"WHAT?" Kaito exclaimed in utter shock. He watched in shock as his cousin appeared on the screen. A tall young man with spiky brown hair that hung in his face stood in front of the reporters with boredom evident on his features. Brilliant, intelligent blue eyes that looked like they could see through everything the world had to offer appeared as their owner looked all around, and then he seemed to stare right through the screen at Kaito. _

_"Thank you, Kudo-kun. You are always helping us out!" A portly inspector cried, before shaking his cousin's hand fervently. _

_"I'm merely delivering justice." Shinichi responded confidently before casting an interested stare in the reporter's direction, who looked absolutely thrilled at the fact that she was before a celebrity. "What do you want, Ms. Reporter?" He asked in annoyance. _

_"Well, Kudou-san, I was just wondering...how did you figure it all out? Why do you do this? I mean, what motivates you to be a detective?" The reporter asked. _

_"Well, a long time ago, something happened, and because of that something, I want to find the truth behind it. I want to stop all these people and make the world a better place." Shinichi said smoothly. _

_"Shinichi..." Kaito trailed off. He deeply missed his cousin, and seeing him now really brought home that knowledge of how much time had really passed. Shinichi and Kaito were less like cousins and more like brothers. They talked alike, thought alike, and knew each other's hopes and dreams so well that no one else mattered. "Shinichi..." _

_A smirk made its way on his face. "What would you think of me now?" His gaze turned to the mirror. _

_The door opened then to reveal Jiisan. "Isn't that Young master Shinichi?" He asked. _

_"It is." Kaito replied. __**What would you think of me now, Shinichi, if you could see the path I've gone down? Would you be proud or angry of me? Would you really hate me for following my heart as the phantom thief, Kaitou KID? Could you ever forgive me, or could you ever understand me? **_

"HACHOOOO!"

* * *

Shinichi Kudou sneezed and sat up out of his bed. He brushed his messy brown hair out of his face and wiped his nose. "Aa, who the heck was thinking about me? Was it Hattori? That's odd, for some reason, it felt like Kaito was thinking about me. Probably not. I miss him, though." He trailed off.

He had heard of the phantom thief, Kaitou KID, before. However, Shinichi was not interested in that sort of thing. He mostly helped Megure-keibu solve murder cases and save innocent people-or sometimes not-so-innocent people, Shinichi knew. Regardless, criminals were still as human as everyone else-he despised the thought of killing them. He vowed to never kill any human or living thing as long as he lived. If he found any insects in his house, he would let them outside rather than kill them senselessly.

Yes, because of his viewpoint, Shinichi lived a tough life. Not many people understood him, and it was hard for him to get along with other people in life. Ran Mouri was one of his closest-and only friends, besides Hattori Heiji and Kaito. However, he and Kaito had understood each other far more than Ran ever would.

He had told her about his cousin before, and she had listened. However, she had grown tired of hearing him babble on and on about him. That was because he was so fond of him that it really, truly hurt to have to move on without him by his side. _Kaito... I miss you. _

* * *

_Shinichi.,..._

* * *

_Kaito, are you doing all right? _

* * *

_Shinichi, are you doing all right? _

* * *

_Would it even be possible..._

* * *

_that we could meet again? _

* * *

At least his cousin was still here in Japan. Kaito was very relieved about that. That solved the mystery. Though for what reason he had chose to stay behind, Kaito had no idea.

* * *

Shinichi had decided to stay behind because he wanted to find his cousin. He had also wanted to protect Ran and not leave her behind as well, but the main reason was because his cousin would be devastated if he moved away. His cousin was far away from him now, but that could change and Shinichi wanted to make sure he knew he was still here.

That was a fact that hurt him to the core. He'd never wanted to be parted from him. Kudou Shinichi wished only to be able to see his cousin Kaito again. It was one thing he desperately longed for. It was the one thing he hoped he could do again. Seeing Kaito, laughing over a joke about Sherlock Holmes, running away from Kaito after he would do some sort of magical prank on him, and taunting Kaito about fish...how he wished so much that they could be twin brothers. Then, they could be in a world of their own, without anybody else, without any adults interfering.

_**A/N:Sorry to interrupt, but when I wrote the first part of this chapter on paper, I wrote next to it: What's next, Bridge to Detective Conan-ithia? Thought I'd share that with you readers. **_

He'd gotten used to being in a world without Kaito. He'd sent letters to Kaito a few times and had called him. He had recently dialed Kaito's phone number a few months ago, and it hadn't worked. So his guess was that Kaito had given up hope on trying to find him. Well, _Shinichi _had also given up hope as well.

He didn't deserve to be with Kaito any longer. What the detective didn't know, however, was that Kaito had never stopped looking for him. He had just stopped trying. That in itself was even worse.

Shinichi was walking with Ran to school the next day and Ran happened to bring up Kaito's name in conversation.

Shinichi's face grew sad. "I don't know. Has Kaito moved on with his life? Has he forgotten about me?"


	2. Chapter 2 KID

**A/N:Wow, am I THRILLED! I opened up my email today-and holy crap, there were SO MANY emails! I am truly flattered at the fact that I have so many fans...believe it or not, in real life, I'm nothing like how I am online. You'd probably think of me like a Fluttershy...we stare at each other, awkward pause, I stammer all my sentences...hard to believe, am I right? Actually, my friends say I'm a lot like Haibara...is that a good thing or a bad thing? I'm somewhat like Shinichi, myself...I think every DC fan starts saying oi, oi to themselves after a while and starts saying barou...Ah, well, I enjoy being a Conanist...oh, quick question. How many of you watch DC in Japanese or English? I watch it in Japanese. **

* * *

**Chapter 2 KID **

_"Shinichi, when we're older, do you want to attend my magic shows?" A nine year old Kaito Kuroba asked his cousin, Kudou Shinichi, who frowned slightly. His cousin stopped for a moment and put his hands over his chin as if in thought. Kaito knew he was mimicking how Sherlock Holmes acted on those old British movies Shinichi would sometimes watch on television. _

_"Etou...probably! As long as I'm not busy solving murders and catching criminals!" Shinichi exclaimed, laughing slightly as well._

_"Baka Shinichi, you know you'll __**never **__be a real-life detective." Kaito mocked. _

_"I will so be a famous detective!"_

_"Will not!" Kaito jeered._

_"Will too!" Shinichi cried. "I'll be much cooler than you, and I'll have a cool car and lots of fan girls!"_

_"The girls don't even like you in school. They think you're a nerd." Kaito replied cheerfully before popping out some flowers and twirling them around like a baton. He held them near Shinichi's face and sprayed him with water. The young boy blinked for a few moments, and then he glared at his cousin. _

_"You barou, knock it off!" Shinichi cried as he dove at his cousin, who dodged. _

_"You'll have to try and catch me first." Kaito taunted. _

* * *

Shinichi awoke from his nostalgic dream and yawned loudly. Unfortunately, he was in class at the moment, so he probably shouldn't have been asleep in the first place. However, he had dealt with an extremely puzzling case yesterday that had kept him up all night long, until he had finally figured out the answer and had called Megure-keibu at nearly three in the morning to tell him the answer.

Ran sent a cross look his way. She was sitting a few seats away from where he was, so she was very annoying in this class. Shinichi rolled his eyes and propped his head up on the desk with his right hand in order to try and prevent himself from falling back asleep. The teacher, however, was less than pleased.

It was in Shinichi's least favorite class of all, _music, _that he had to fall asleep in. Though he enjoyed listening to music, Shinichi Kudou did have one weakness: _he was tone-deaf. _He could not sing one bit and even when he had tried as a kid, Kaito had made fun of him and called him a crow. Also, Shinichi could not really stand the fact that sometimes, the teacher forced them to sing out loud. That had been in junior high and elementary, and he had always gotten a bad grade there.

The music teacher frowned at her less-than-average pupil. She knew he was a famous detective and a really good soccer player, got lots of good grades in other subjects-in fact, he was more or less an overachiever-so why was he not good in this one? She decided to ask him herself. "Kudou-san, why must you fall asleep in my class? Is my class that dull to you?"

Shinichi yawned loudly. "No, it was just due to something that kept me up all night long, Sensei."

One of the boys beside him chuckled. "I bet that isn't what she said-"

Shinichi silenced him with a cold glare. "Barou, it wasn't that at all!"

"Please calm down, Kudou-san." The teacher chided, staring at him as though he were a horrible, horrible, villain who had done something very bad, even when he had _only fallen _asleep. How bad was it to fall asleep in this class, anyway? He hated music, and the teacher, and the subject. Therefore, it was only natural that he would fall asleep, wasn't it?

He sighed melodramatically and half of the girls in the classroom stared at him and giggled slightly. He winked at one sitting near him and she blushed deeply before looking away. Shinichi sweat-dropped a little bit. _Am I a bit of a flirt or something? Heh...well, I AM a famous detective, after all. It only makes sense that I'd have a bunch of fans. I wonder if Kaito knows about me being a detective..._

His thoughts went to his cousin, and he stared out the window, wondering inwardly what Kaito was up to and whether or not he still thought about him. Though there was no denying the fact that the two of them were separated from one another, in name, in lifestyle, in personality, even. The only things that connected them were their looks, their feelings about people, their friendship, and the fact that they both were cousins related by blood, and they would always act alike no matter what they thought of it.

"Kaito..." He mumbled under his breath. He was glad that school was almost out. Of course, at times like this, usually Megure-keibu would call him on his cell phone and request that he solve some sort of case, but there had been nothing like that so far-

* * *

Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrating. Shinichi's eyes widened. He couldn't let himself be caught with a cell phone. "Sensei? Can I use the restroom?"

He noticed Ran flash him a suspicious stare. It seemed that she knew he was lying. She knew him pretty well, or well enough to know that he wouldn't tell lies unless it was absolutely necessary. He stopped to consider that for a second. Would he ever lie to Ran for any reason at all? No, of course he wouldn't...though, sometimes he had strange feelings in the pit of his stomach...deja vu...

Sometimes, he would have dreams about another universe that was very similar to his own. Something odd had happened to him in that universe. He had been turned into a little kid and had apparently lived with Ran for a while and...it was such a bizarre dream...Kaito wasn't related to him at all, and there was a strange blond-haired girl there as well...he frowned as he tried to remember it before shrugging his shoulders and walking out of the classroom.

He darted into the bathroom, thankful for the fact that there were no cameras in the boy's bathroom, and went into a stall and closed the door. He took out his phone, and answered. "Hello?" He whispered, glancing around to make sure that no one was eavesdropping. The less likely he was being watched or spied on by fan-girls, the better.

"_Ah, Kudo-kun! I was just trying to reach you, but you wouldn't answer." _

Shinichi smiled upon hearing Megure-keibu's voice. Now this was something he actually liked today. He would get a break from class thanks to someone dying. He smirked as he replied back, still quietly. "I'm in school right now, and I saw my phone vibrating, so I had to make an excuse and sneak to the bathroom where they don't have cameras. I don't want people overhearing, so that's why I'm whispering."

"_Oh, I see! You are too smart for your own good, Kudo-kun! Sometimes you sound like a criminal in training! Anyway, we just found quite a grisly scene here in a restaurant. Two people have been murdered. A man and a woman have been poisoned and then hacked to pieces. It's quite a gruesome scene. Some of my men aren't used to seeing such grim scenes. They're hiding right now, the little cowards." _

Shinichi snickered slightly. He heard footsteps outside his stall, and froze.

"Is this stall taken?" A male voice asked.

"Yes..." Shinichi said.

"Fine, I'll use the other one. Don't flirt with your girlfriend in here, you idiot." The male voice scolded before slamming another stall door shut with a loud bang. Shinichi winced visibly.

"Well, that was weird. Someone thought I was flirting with a girl here." Shinichi said. "So, when do you want me over?"

"_ASAP. Tell your teacher it's due to a case. They'll understand." _

Shinichi sighed. "All right. I'll see you later, Megure-keibu."

Megure stared at the phone in his hands and sighed. That young detective could be quite handy at times, but at the same time, he could be quite a handful. Sometimes he wondered what exactly went on in that brilliant, intelligent mind of his. However, the boy was quite a valuable asset to solving the mysteries that seemed to baffle the police force.

* * *

Kuroba Kaito yawned out loud in his school. Aoko Nakamori, his childhood friend, and secret crush, glared at him. "Bakaito, why are you yawning in school? You're not supposed to stay up that late! What were you doing last night, anyway?"

_I was out doing my usual night job, stealing jewels as the thief KID, Bakoko. What else would I have been doing? Dying my hair a new color? Selling Kudou Shinichi fan posters? _

"I was...busy preparing a new magic trick yesterday!" Kaito cried.

"It took you...ALL NIGHT to do it? Geez, Kaito, you really put that much effort into making tricks?" Aoko scoffed skeptically. Obviously, she didn't buy his little lie. Well, he couldn't actually tell her the truth, could he?

Obviously, that would not be a good idea. The last thing he wanted to have happen was to cause Aoko to get mixed up in his business as Kaitou Kid. He wanted to protect her and not cause her harm in any possible way.

"By the way, Kaito, you seem awfully serious today. Is it because...of today's date?" Aoko asked.

Kaito nodded solemnly. "Yes...it's today...the anniversary of the day Shinichi and I parted from each other. It wasn't exactly in the best way, either."

* * *

_"Please don't leave, Kaito!" Shinichi begged, clutching the nine-year old's arm desperately, as if trying to hold onto him forever. He didn't want to lose Kaito, too. He'd already lost his uncle, for God's sake. _

_"I don't want to leave either. I have no choice." Kaito said, tears flowing down his face as he hugged Shinichi back. _

_"But, you can't-" _

_Shinichi was cut off by his Aunt Chikage, who hugged him and smiled sadly before taking Kaito by the hand and walking away. "No, you can't leave, Kaito! You promised to stay by my side, itoko!" _

_Kaito shot a sad glance in his direction. "I know, itoko...I know, but I'll always be with you." _

_"How? You're never going to see me again!" Shinichi cried. "Please, don't go!"_

_"Gomen nasai." Kaito whispered, and then they were gone. He heard the sound of their car pull out of their driveway. Shinichi bolted after the car, tears streaming down his face. _

_"KAITOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Shinichi screamed. _

* * *

Kaito smiled sadly. He hoped Shinichi had gotten over his departure. From what he had seen on TV the other day, the boy seemed to have grown up quite a lot. For one thing, he was almost as solemn as his dad had been on the day he died. Had his cousin changed so much? He longed to see him again.

* * *

"Who's KID, Ran?" Shinichi asked.

"KID is a famous Kaitou, or phantom thief! I can't believe you've never heard of him, Shinichi!" Ran exclaimed.

"A phantom thief, eh...?" Shinichi trailed off. He wondered why that reminded him of Kaito.


	3. Chapter 3 Where is KID

Tooi no Koe Chapter 3 Where are you, Shinichi?

A/N:_Thanks to the four people who reviewed. To the reviewer who said "thank you", what do you mean? Thanks for the chapter? Please be more specific when you review. I'm looking for a bit more than "great chapter, update soon!" I'd like some constructive-and interesting reviews, all right? I know I can always improve as a writer and so can you!_

_Chapter 3 Where are you, Shinichi? _

* * *

Mouri Ran stared at the empty chair across from her seat in worry. She knew from the second that her childhood friend had gotten out of his chair and had claimed that he needed to go to the bathroom that something had come up. If she had to hazard a guess, it was probably a murder case. Still, wasn't his education more important than some dumb murder? After all, the time he lost in school could never be replaced.

Someone nudged her elbow and she whirled around to find herself staring at a girl with short brown hair and blue eyes who was smirking slightly. She sighed aloud, oblivious to the teacher shooting her a death glare. "Sonoko-chan, what do you want?" She asked aloud.

Her friend chuckled slightly under her breath and smirked. "So, are you...worried about your _husband, _Ran? You know he's probably off on some case, huh?" She snickered.

Ran shushed her friend. "Sonoko-chan, we're in...class! We can't just make social conversation right now!" She hissed.

The teacher had already noticed, however. "Mouri-san, is something the matter? Something tells me that you seem to think that the classroom is a social hall."

"Iie, Kyomi-sensei, I was trying to tell Sonoko-chan to be quiet, because _we're in class right now." _Ran protested.

The teacher didn't look convinced, however. "Where is Kudou-san? He asked to go to the bathroom nearly thirty minutes ago, and he hasn't returned yet!" She exclaimed.

"He probably had to solve a case. He _is _a detective, after all." Sonoko explained briefly.

Kyomi-sensei frowned. "It seems more like he's just skipping class to me. I know he's a famous detective, but perhaps he could take some time to consider how important his education is before he goes off to solve these dumb cases." She complained.

The girls in the class sighed forlornly upon seeing that their idol wasn't present for the time being. Obviously, they all were envious of the fact that he got to leave early and they couldn't do the same.

Ran just smiled to herself. Even though Shinichi was a brilliant detective and he was practically a genius when it came to school, sometimes he still lacked common sense. He would sometimes forget to lock his door, forget his keys, or even forget to take his music lessons home...though she knew he hated that class so much that he would do anything to get out of it..._anything. _

Still, he was her childhood friend, so even though he could be a little irritating, a little conceited, and a little _too arrogant for his own good, _she still cared about him very much. In fact she supposed that maybe...she had a crush on him. Not that he knew, of course. He was probably too dense to even see that she had feelings for him. All he seemed to care about were his mystery novels, his books, and the mysteries that seemed to plague him everywhere he went.

She blushed a little and smiled out the window. She wondered where exactly he had gone to. She saw him on the news doing his cases, but why did it feel like he was growing apart from her? Was this just her own fears preying on her, or was it accurate? She noticed how much he seemed to talk about his cousin and maybe, just maybe, he cared more about his cousin than her.

She shook her head. She was overthinking things, after all...Shinichi did care about her very much and she was being silly. How _dare_ she question the ways of a detective! That sounded like something Shinichi would say if she ever raised that question up to him for him to consider.

"Shinichi..." She whispered, oblivious to her friend Sonoko's jeering beside her.

* * *

Shinichi sneezed all of a sudden. "I bet Ran was thinking about me..." He muttered under his breath. A tall, portly inspector glanced at him in confusion.

"Kudo-kun, was Ran-san thinking about you?" Megure-keibu, or Inspector Megure, teased.

Shinichi blushed before he managed to control himself and shot the inspector a glare. "Urusai. Ran and I are not in love." He snapped. "I can't believe you called me out for such an easy case..."

"Unfortunately, it's not that easy, Kudo-kun. The victim's name was merely an alias, and we have no leads as to who she really was. However, some witnesses said that they saw her with some mysterious men in black...if it's something like that, we can't delve in too deep. Also, someone else...has come to me with something very...well, annoying." Megure explained.

"What is it?" Shinichi asked. His eyes widened as Megure tossed a picture of a certain phantom thief in his hands. "No way...what do you want _me _to do? I'm not a thief-hunter, Megure-keibu; I'm a detective!"

Megure frowned. "Talk to the nutcase who rang me up this morning for over two hours rambling on about how much he wants someone who is competent enough to help him catch KID. KID's true identity is unknown. All we know is that he wears all white at night, steals jewels and leaves public notices telling the police and the public when he will steal them, and disturbs police. Maybe you could handle him, Kudo-kun. This KID character seems to have a lot of brains, and I think someone with your genius could easily match up with him. What do you think?"

Shinichi stared at him for a long moment. "Are you _crazy?_ All he does is steal jewels! That's boring...what mystery is there?"

"I won't force you to. Let me give you a piece of advice, though-don't cross this man's path. He's quite zealous about KID and he hates being outdone, so try not to be too egotistical." Megure sounded like he was practically _pleading_ the last part.

In the end, Shinichi gave in. "Okay...just tell me what the man's name is..."

"His name is Nakamori Ginzo. His daughter's name is Nakamori Aoko."

_That name sounds familiar...wait a second, was she...the girl that Kaito talked about the last time we ever talked on the phone?...that was five years ago. _

Shinichi was surprised that he even _remembered_ the girl. Kaito had merely mentioned her whenever they had talked on the phone, however he had had something to do and had abruptly hung up on him after his mother had told him to get off the phone. He had only spoken to him for ten minutes, and yet he felt as though maybe Kaito had something to do with this Kaitou KID fellow.

* * *

Kaitou KID was getting ready for his big performance. His gaze trailed over to the picture that sat on the mantelpiece. Two twin boys both had their arms around each other and wore big grins. Behind them were two brown-haired girls, both looking quite envious. A light smirk made its way on his face for a moment.

"That was a long time ago...I wonder if you will come to dance with me tonight, Meitantei-san. Will you really fight against me-Kudou Shinichi...my cousin?" He asked before popping a rose from his hands. "In the style of Tuxedo Mask...here is a rose. A red one, for good luck..."

He spread out his hang-glider. A light smirk danced across his face. It was time for the white knight to play a little game with the foolish detectives who believed in seriousness and law and order-and try to get them to see things his way and have some...FUN. Seriously, why couldn't they laugh and smile and break the law once in a while? After all, the law had its limits.

It was best, Kaitou KID-aka Kaito Kuroba-thought, to cross that line every once in a while.

Shinichi stared at the note in his hands, an invitation from Kaitou KID to the Inspector Megure-keibu had asked him to help. "What have I gotten myself into...?" He moaned. Honestly, looking at it at first, the stupid thing seemed like a twisted joke. But as he looked over it more and more, it seemed more like some kind of riddle.

Shinichi was not that good at riddles, but he had to admit that these riddles were obviously made for an audience that wasn't stupid. He was NOT part of that audience-fortunately.


	4. Chapter 4 Nakamori

A/N:Wow, 29 alerts! That's awesome, minna (everyone), but I need more reviews in order to help me carry on! This story is pretty good so far. As for Shin and Kaito fighting against each other as KID and detective, personally THAT is the part I look forward to the most in this story!

Chapter 4 Inspector Nakamori

* * *

Ginzo Nakamori glared at the Kaitou KID note that lay in front of him on his desk. He had read over the stupid riddle thirteen times and he _still _couldn't get it! "Damn it, KID! Could you at least give me a heist note that makes sense and DOESN'T seem like something out of Batman?"

Most of the officers beside him jumped in terror. They were used to this sort of behavior from him. That didn't mean that it still didn't set them on edge, though. Ginzo Nakamori was renowned for having quite the nasty temper (along with his obsession with catching KID, which was a deadly mix). He could get angry over anything, but the one thing that would set him off the most was when anyone volunteered to _help _him catch KID.

Nakamori had a huge ego and wanted to believe he was the only one capable of catching KID. Therefore, when **anyone, **including rookie detective Saguru Hakuba, seemed to think they were better than him, were therefore "privileged" to help, the answer was no.

There was another reason for that, though. Inspector Nakamori did not wish to entangle kids in his line of work! This was no place for them; they were better off in school where they belonged. It wasn't time for them to be adults yet. For now, they should just enjoy their youth while it lasted. If they didn't...well, their childhood would be wasted.

Even his daughter Aoko had volunteered, but his answer had always been the same and always would be:NO!

He sipped some of his tea for a moment and stared at the note for the umpteenth time before a few vein marks pulsed on his head. "Dang it! If only someone who could read KID like a book was around..."

"But, Inspector, I thought you said _you didn't want help." _A particularly dumb police officer questioned.

"Was I talking to you, you fool? No, I was talking to myself, so please keep your mouth shut and-"

RING-RING-RING-RING

* * *

Everyone lifted up their heads upon hearing the **Inspector's cell phone **ringing several times.

"Who could be calling you at this time, Inspector?" Another officer asked timidly, hoping that the Inspector wouldn't blow his gasket again, but with a man like him, you could never be sure.

"**I don't know! **I'm going to see in a moment!" He shrieked as he opened his cell phone and answered it. "Hello?"

There was silence on the other end for a moment and then: "_Hello, is this Nakamori-keibu, the polive officer of Ekota district?" _

Nakamori flinched upon hearing the voice. It sounded rather YOUNG for an officer. Who was this kid?

"What do you want, kid? If this is some sort of prank call, I swear I'll get ahold of your parents-"

"_Good luck with that...they're overseas right now. I heard you're the expert on Kaitou KID. Megure-keibu recommended me and said I should help you." _

"No! I don't need you, Saguru!" He bellowed.

"_Settle down, Ojisan! Anyway, if you think this is a joke, you're wrong. Megure-keibu received a KID note a day ago, and sent it to me. I can probably solve this riddle." The male voice said confidently._

"Who _are you? _You've got a lot of nerve, kid!" Nakamori cried.

"_My name? I'm...Kudou Shinichi, a detective!" Shinichi exclaimed._

"K-Kudou Shinichi!? I've never heard of you before!" Nakamori cried.

"Wait, Inspector! I've heard of him before! He's that famous high school detective in Tokyo. He's incredibly smart. If anyone can help us, it's him!" The same dumb officer from earlier yelped.

"So, you're a detective, huh?" Nakamori said sarcastically. "Get a job, kid."

"_Wait, don't you want to know what the meaning behind this riddle is? I think I've gotten most, if not all of it figured out. It'll only take me another hour or so to figure out all of it. If you want to know what it means, you should trust in me." Shinichi challenged. _

_P._

"Fine. Come over here in a few days. KID's heist is next week and we need all the help we can get. But don't you even think of saying that you're better than me!"

Nakamori hung up on him then, cutting off whatever Shinichi was going to say.

* * *

The detective frowned as he studied the phone. "My ears are still ringing from his verbal outburst. He didn't have to be such a loud baka!" He rubbed his aching temples and he stared over at the KID riddle. He had written several notes along the side of it, all detailing his opinions and ideas as to what they could mean.

**A/N:I'm not going to write it out because I am HORRIBLE at poems and riddles. **

"The only part I can't figure out is the part about the tears shed in blood at the light of the moon. What on earth could that mean? Wait a second..."

He scoured over it again and his cobalt blue eyes widened upon seeing the part of the note he had overlooked.

Beside the KID sketch, there was another message written:

"**P.S. Won't you come dance with me under the moon, Sherlock Holmes? Or should I say, the Modern Holmes? I await your answer, meitantei-san." **

_There's no doubt about it. He meant to send this to **me. **But why? He should know I don't exactly specialize in catching thieves. That's the part I can't figure out. Maybe he wants a rival who is just as smart as he is. _

_That's it._

A broad smirk-not unlike that of the Kaitou KID himself-appeared on Shinichi's face. "I see...I think I've figured out everything."

_Just you wait, KID. I'll accept your little game. It's elementary what you mean, my dear Kaitou KID-san. All you have to do is look at it the right way and all the pieces begin to fit together. _

* * *

Kaito was preparing his latest magic trick when there was a rap at the window. He smirked and opened the window. Instantly, a white dove came onto his shoulder and dropped a note into his arms. He read it.

Kaito smirked as he read over it. "As expected of my cousin. I knew you would be the first one to get it. In fact, that note was aimed at you specifically, meitantei-san."

"Kaito, it's dinner time!" His mother cried from downstairs. "I'm going to get that salmon out of the freezer and add it as a side dish if you don't come downstairs."

Kaito flinched. "Coming!" _Anything's better than eating that...horrid, wretched, smelly...THING. Thank god Shinichi doesn't know that I'm KID, otherwise..._

The mental image he conjured up left him shivering in terror. "I sure hope that doesn't happen! He probably hasn't forgotten about my fear of fish, though."

"Kaaaaaaittto...I'm going to get Mr. Fishie out of the freezer...I'm sure he would loveeeeee to meet youuuuuuuu."

Kaito shivered in horror and then hurried downstairs, afraid of what would happen if he were to resist.

* * *

"Shinichi, are you doing all right?" Ran asked Shinichi, who was currently walking ahead of her...**.studying over something and writing things down in his notebook.** This was one of his most annoying habits. He often tended to read books while walking. Thus there was an impediment to any sort of social conversation whatsoever any time he was reading. Shinichi wasn't the most social person around, but sometimes he was unaware of when he was being rude.

"Shinichi..." Ran repeated, but he didn't so much as look her way. Instead, he turned a page. He was mumbling to himself about something. A vein mark pulsed on her head..."Shinichi..."

No response. Finally, she began to get very irritated. "SHINICHI!"

"What!" He cried, turning to look at her in confusion. "You don't have to scream like that. I can hear you well enough."

Ran frowned. "Honestly, Shinichi, do you have to read and walk at the same time? It's so annoying!"

"Barou, you know I have to look over things for a case." Shinichi lied.

"What's this?" Ran asked, picking up the Kaitou KID note that had fallen out of his notebook. Her eyes lit up. "Aha, it's a Kaitou KID note! Were you sent one, Shinichi?"

Shinichi nodded. "Yes. This note was aimed at me, after all. I have no idea why a thief like him is so interested in inviting a detective to his dumb show."

Ran's eyes filled with anger. "Bakanichi, KID is not a bad person. Maybe you could find out who he is. Wouldn't that be exciting?"

"Barou. Since when did you start acting like Sonoko?" Shinichi asked before eying her closely.

"I was _joking, _Shinichi." Ran replied promptly.

"Are you sure...?" Shinichi asked, warily. "Because if I'm not mistaken...you acted just like Sonoko."

"You're so paranoid, Shinichi! Like I said before, I was only joking around!" Ran said.

"It's natural for a detective such as myself to be paranoid! After all, I'm destined to make lots of deadly enemies, Ran. Detectives aren't always well-liked." He said sharply.

"Shinichi, everyone likes you. You're a good person." Ran reassured.

"Barou. Not everyone feels that way about me. Obviously, there are people who hate me, like your otousan, who can't even get a single job due to his inefficiency and arrogant nature, or the people I arrest, or your friend Sonoko, or even criminals I don't know about. Celebrities especially have lots of enemies, assassins..." He trailed off.

Ran frowned. "You sound paranoid."

"It's a natural thing. Haven't you heard in the news about how many celebrities get murdered by people they don't even know just to get famous? Haven't you ever heard of the Japanese actress Miyuki Sano?" He scoffed.

"Who is that?" Ran asked.

"_Was, Ran. _Kaasan was a big fan of her movies and they even met a few times. This was back when I was a little kid, but I remember it pretty well. Anyway, she was really famous and she had lots of admirers. There was a man who became obsessed with her and started stalking her. She kept on denying him every time he tried to come near her. One day, he got the help of a detective agency and found out where she lived. He tried to talk to her, but she told him to leave. He came back an hour later and when she answered it, he pulled out a gun and shot her in the chest. She died after they took her to the E.R. That really made things harder on stalkers." He finished.

Ran stared at him in horror. "That's horrible, Shinichi. To think such a poor girl like her died due to a lunatic..."

"It happens all the time, Ran. However, celebrities have a bigger risk of being killed than ordinary people, due to the fact that nothing about our lives is private. Some people want to become famous by killing others."

"That's twisted, Shinichi! That was only one incident! It shouldn't make you so hesitant to trust in others." Ran said.

"I'm not sure whether or not I should go to this KID heist."

"I'll invite Sonoko-chan, too!"

"Don't drag _her _along." Shinichi growled.

"Shinichi, you ought to be nicer to her." Ran snapped.

"Whatever. Bring the fangirl along. See how it works out." Shinichi sighed.

**A/N:That's based on reality. Rebecca Schaeffer was a real person who died in the '80's. Since Shinichi's mother is an actress and works over in America...I decided it would be neat to incorporate that in there. It's a shame that she died in that manner. Anyway, read and review! Like always~**


	5. Chapter 5 Resignation

**A/N:Hello, my beloved readers! How are all of you today? **

**Chapter 5 Resignation**

* * *

Sonoko Suzuki knew one thing about men. That was that they loved to fight and be on top of things. Women, on the other hand were more gentle, subtle, and refined creatures. Which was why she loved to spur on fights between men over women because it was just so cool...she really enjoyed that sort of thing.

But the thing that she enjoyed the most was reading romance novels. She thought they were really interesting things to read about romance between a man and a woman who at first didn't like each other, but then they were driven to be by each others side for eternity. It was a nice escape from reality for a bit, but it wasn't real. Why did a certain someone make fun of her for liking such wastes of time?

Ran didn't really enjoy that sort of book, so she made fun of her. Ran was much more into reading books that were more down-to-earth and realistic. She wasn't fond of mystery novels like a certain detective that all of them knew and cared about, but she enjoyed reading realistic books. Sonoko found that to be a waste of time. Who could read only non-fiction and throw away fiction like it was nothing more than garbage?

They'd have to be really stupid morons who didn't have a brain in their body and didn't feel like exercising it to do something that irrational. However, Sonoko didn't like to be seen reading in public because it would make her stoop down more to Shinichi's level...and she didn't want to seem like a certain arrogant mystery otaku.

She could tell there was chemistry between those two. Even though Shinichi and Ran avidly denied being more than friends, they were so close with each other that it was hard not to notice the fact that they were attracted to each other. Ran hung out with Shinichi more and more, leaving Sonoko to do her own thing. She sometimes felt jealous, but reassured herself that she should be there for them as their friend. Well, for Shinichi...she hardly considered him a friend, but if Ran liked him, then that was fine by her.

She just couldn't resist teasing her kind friend. She liked to see Ran all pumped up and irritated. She was too cheerful for her own good. Ran seemed to possess some sort of energy that attracted all kinds of males to her side. She seemed oblivious to it. Though that was also like Shinichi Kudo, who seemed to be unaware of the hordes of female students who had fallen in love with him.

Said students would often give anything to be in his class with him every day, and often followed them while they were out doing things. It was extremely vexing to be out with a celebrity, because invariably, you got noticed sooner or later. The result that sprung from that was complete and utter chaos. Shinichi and Ran had a bad habit of being swarmed by fangirls, and that applied to whenever Sonoko was near.

Which was why she preferred the days when he wasn't being such an arrogant know-it-all...oh, wait, when wasn't HE? She frowned as she stared at her watch. Ran had promised to meet her here. She had promised, so where was she?

Sonoko frowned and stared at her watch again. She still wasn't here...this was incredibly grating. Where was she at this hour?

* * *

"Shinichi, I told you this was the wrong train to go on!" Ran cried. Shinichi was ignoring her. Instead he had a book in front of his face.

"...Barou. You insisted that we had to go meet that moron Sonoko." Shinichi replied.

"Bakanichi! I don't want you being mean to Sonoko-chan!"

"You mean the annoying, whiny pain-in-the-ass who insists on coming to the Kaitou KID heist and has whined and pleaded with me for days and days?" Shinichi said.

"Sonoko-chan is my friend, just like you are, Shinichi!"

* * *

_Just a friend, huh? Too bad I don't see it that way, Ran..._

A small smile made its way on his face. He remembered the dream he had last night about him confessing his feelings to Ran and them getting married. _She probably doesn't feel the same. _

He had only recently become aware of his feelings for her in junior high. To think that she didn't notice all the little signs he gave her! Were women this dense? Why was it that they spoke so passionately of romance and acted like it was the greatest thing in the world and yet when someone was near who actually did love them, they were too stupid to notice?

Shinichi cursed his luck and continued reading his book. He heard Ran get up and move somewhere else. Well, fine. She could move somewhere else if she wanted to. It wasn't like he'd miss such an annoying, whiny girl anyway. Maybe now he could actually get some quiet.

He stood up after about ten minutes of quiet and cried, "Oi, Ran! Where are you?"

He didn't expect to be grabbed from behind by someone and thrown to the ground.

Shinichi looked up in alarm and found Ran standing over him...no wait, her eyes were too violet to be Ran's. Ran's were a darker blue. So, who was this girl who looked so much like Ran for it be to a coincidence?

"Um..." Shinichi started to say, but the girl ignored him and started to yell out loud.

* * *

"Hey! You know, you need to be more considerate! You made me wait here for you for hours! You said you would be back here as soon as possible! Bakaito, why did I see you with another girl?"

_Bakaito...? Who's that...eh, wait a second, this girl...she can't be...can she? _

"Kaito, are you even listening to a word I said-"

"I'm sorry, miss. But I'm not Kaito. I'm his cousin." Shinichi said before getting back up.

"Nice acting job, Kaito! Even though you went to all the trouble to actually brush your hair, I know it's you! I brought a special guest today! A salmon straight from the supermarket!" She held it in front of Shinichi and blinked when he didn't react.

"Barou...I'm not scared of fish. It's Kaito who is. I'm his cousin, like I said before. I'm Shinichi Kudo."

The girl paused for a moment. "You know what...you don't sound like him? You talk differently. I'm Aoko Nakamori, Kaito's childhood friend. Kaito promised to meet me here but I don't know where he went."

"Drat. I thought I could finally see him again." Shinichi cursed under his breath.

"Have you been looking for him? He recently changed his phone number, you know. All you have to do is call his new one." Aoko said simply.

"Shinichi?" A voice cried.

Shinichi turned around to greet Ran, but was surprised when she punched him in the face.

"SHINICHI, WHY IN THE WORLD ARE YOU HANGING OUT WITH ANOTHER GIRL?" The demon incarnate shrieked.

Shinichi flinched. "Eh, Ran, I can explain. This is a friend of Kaito's I just ran into by accident. She mistook me for him."

"That's right. I remember you. You're the daughter of that nincompoop detective, huh?" Aoko said condescendingly.

Ran's fists tightened ever so slightly. "Take that back! My dad is not a nincompoop!"

"Yes, he is. I've heard that high-school detective has gotten more work than he has! Oh...wait...what did they say his name was...?"

Shinichi hit his forehead. _Please don't start obsessing over me...please don't start obsessing over me once you find out my name. _

He knew in the end that his prayers were futile, though.

For then, a woman screamed.

"THERE'S A MAN DEAD IN MY SEAT WITH A KNIFE THROUGH HIM!"

Sometimes, Shinichi really hated the fact that Death seemed to keep track of him wherever he went and stalked him constantly. But maybe there was a reason why they came to him. For that, he wasn't sure.

"Your murder magnetism has struck again." Ran said sarcastically.

Aoko just raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

* * *

That name...Shinichi _did_ sound familiar. Though, where _had_ she heard it before? As far as she knew, he didn't appear in newspapers...or, did he?

"This wasn't an accident! Someone deliberately killed this man!" Shinichi said confidently.

Ran just hit her forehead. "Here comes the melodrama all over again."

"What are you talking about?" Aoko asked again. "He's nothing more than an ordinary kid."

* * *

A few people got out of their seats and started casting interested stares at the young man who was standing there watching the crowd with a bored look on his face. Word started to spread around the train of who the mysterious boy was.

"I'm Kudo Shinichi, the high school detective. This certainly has something to do with me."

He sighed as the girls all started to stare at him. "Here comes the crowd." He whispered.

"That's cool." Aoko whispered.

* * *

Kaito frowned as he was escorted by a redheaded girl.

"Koizumi, what do you want from me this time?" He growled.

"Hey, you wanted to know something about my prediction. Here it is: a black crow may come and fall on the knight of justice if the dove doesn't do something."

Kaito's eyebrow raised ever so slightly. "Why would that concern me?"

"Don't be a moron!" Koizumi said. "It has to do with your friend, Kudo Shinichi!"


	6. Chapter 6 Preparations for the Heist

**A/N:Hey, there, my fellow readers! Am I glad to update again! Now I'm going to feature a group of characters I hate (along with most of the DC fanbase)...in other words, the Scrappies of Detective Conan. Yep, in other words...the Detective Boys. They have a part to play, too! Even the Cutie Mark Crusaders are better! **

**Chapter 6: Preparations for the Heist**

* * *

It was a nice, warm sunny day in the town of Beika. All the kids were outside playing on this day. This was the most special time of the day for elementary schoolers, seeing as it was recess! Most children were eager to be with their friends, talk about the latest video games they had played, or play a game of tag. However, there were a group of kids who had a different subject on their mind than that.

A girl with brown hair that was held in place with a headband stood there, eagerly chattering away with her classmates about everything from toys to My Little Pony to even detective shows.

"Did you see the latest episode, Ayumi-chan?" One of her classmates gushed. "I swear, those ponies are so adorable!"

Ayumi grinned. "Yep! I've got all the episodes on DVD!"

The girls gaped. "Really? How did you get your hands on them? I'm so envious!" One exclaimed.

Two boys approached the group of girls then, who froze upon seeing the boys.

"AHHHH, COOTIES!"

* * *

Everyone except Ayumi raced off and left her alone with the boys. However. these two boys happened to be Ayumi's best friends, Genta Kojima and Mitsuhiko Tsubaraya, so she wasn't scared of them at all. Genta was a pudgy boy with dark hair and round eyes. Everyone picked on him due to his weight but Ayumi.

Mitsuhiko was a skinny boy with freckles. "Hey there, Ayumi-chan! How's it going finding people who want to join the Detective Boys?"

Ayumi hung her head sadly. "No one really wants to join. Oh, if only we had someone like Kudou Shinichi-san with us!" She sighed dreamily.

"Yeah, did you see him on TV last night? He's going to help out at the KID heist in a few days!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed excitedly.

"He's _so cute!" _Ayumi gushed, her face red as she thought about the detective she really looked up to and admired.

"Come on, he's too old for you! I'll bet he already has a girl!" Genta dissuaded.

Ayumi shook her head. "Wouldn't it be nice if we could find someone as bright as him to join our club?"

Genta nodded his head in approval. "Yeah, but then he'd be really arrogant and he'd be bossing us all around!"

"Nah, I bet being with a kid who's really smart would be lots of fun, right, Ayumi-chan?" Mitsuhiko said. He really idolized that boy who solved mysteries. If only he could be as smart, brave, and intelligent as he was, maybe some of the kids in his class would be able to approach him more often and actually befriend him. A lot of times, they just assumed he was a geek who thought too much of himself and left him alone.

Much to his surprise, he had actually met someone who really didn't care about him or his interests. Ayumi Yoshida was quite a nice girl and he had a considerably large crush on her. So when she had asked him to form a detective club with her, of course he had accepted.

"You have your head in the clouds again, Mitsuhiko-kun. It would be fun if he were our age, but that's not likely, right?" Ayumi said sadly. The other two stood up and smiled at Ayumi.

"Come on, someone's probably waiting for us to help them, right?" Genta said. "Let's go find a case!"

* * *

Unfortunately, their results were a little...lacking. The closest thing they got to a case was a mysterious note on the ground, and even that went nowhere, as it turned out to be simply a note written by Kobayashi-sensei. The three intrepid adventurers' efforts turned out to be in vain.

"Dang. I bet it'd be really cool to be famous." Ayumi moaned.

"Are you sure about that?" A new voice asked from behind them. The three kids spun around to see a tall teenager standing there. He had spiky brown hair and cobalt-blue eyes that were full of interest.

"Are you...KUDOU SHINICHI-SAN!?" Ayumi yelped.

The boy covered his ears. "Shhh! Keep it down, okay? I'm trying to lie low!" He hissed.

"Are you capturing a sneaky criminal? We can help! We're the Detective Boys!" Genta exclaimed.

"We solve any case we take on!" Mitsuhiko added.

"Oi, oi, you guys have to go to school. You are still children." Shinichi pointed out.

"Shinichi-nii-chan, that's not fair. I want to accompany you on your mission!" Ayumi moaned.

_Mission? Are these kids serious? They're nuts. Ah, well. May as well put up with the little brats for a while._

_"_All right, you can come with me once school is over. I'll show you around town. But you have to swear that you won't cause trouble, okay?"

"YAY!" The threesome cheered.

_I've got a __bad feeling __about this. Since when did I, the great detective, become a baby-sitter? Maybe they'll get bored with it after a while._

* * *

For the rest of the day, Sumiko Kobayashi wondered why three of her pupils seemed to be more energetic than usual today and completed their work with such ease. They had never acted like this before, and to tell the truth, it both stunned and confused her. Had something good happened to them out on the playground?

However, they were being awfully talkative today, so it didn't matter whether or not something good had happened. They had to be quiet, so she had to discipline them. It was only proper to, after all.

"Yoshida-san, Tsubaraya-san, and Kojima-san, please stop talking and pay attention." She scolded.

"Haiiiii..." The kids droned in reluctance.

Before the end of the school day approached, she came towards the three rambunctious children. "Did something good happen today, you three?"

"Yep! Shinichi-nii-san has let us help him on a case!" Ayumi chirped.

"Who is this Shinichi-nii-san?"

"He's that high-school detective, Sensei!" They replied in unison. "Kudo Shinichi!"

Sumiko gaped visibly. "You know, I used to have him in my class when he was little. He was such a good student, but he was quite mouthy and mischievous, too. He read all the mystery books in the library in one year. He was practically a genius. He and his cousin would often come into class arguing on which detective was better. I wonder where his cousin is now."

"You did?" Ayumi said, unable to believe that her idol could have ever been as small as she was. How on earth did that happen, anyway? If all adults were once kids, why were they so mean to kids like her, then?

Sumiko smiled broadly then. "Tell Kudou-kun his old sensei is still thinking of him, okay?"

"Wow, was he _always_ into mysteries, Sensei?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"Oh my, yes. He is the son of a famous mystery novelist. Sometimes he even read his novels while he was supposed to be doing his schoolwork!" She said.

The bell rang then.

"Well, I think I'll take you out the door. Who will be here to escort you home?"

"We promised to meet Shinichi-onii-san after school!" Ayumi said.

"Well, he can't take you home now, can he? He has other responsibilities-" Her eyes widened as she saw her former student in the flesh, standing in the door. He was taller, his hair was longer and he definitely looked more mature. But he still had that sense of innocence about him. He was talking to a girl with brown hair at the moment, but then he turned to see the three kids and his eyes lit up upon seeing Sumiko.

* * *

"Aa, Kobayashi-sensei. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

She smiled. "Indeed it has, Meitantei-san."

Shinichi smirked. "I'm seventeen now, Kobayashi-sensei. Can you believe it?"

"Who's that with you? Is that Ran-chan?"

The girl stopped and she studied Sumiko for a moment and then her eyes lit up as well. "Kobayashi-sensei, it's good to see you again!"

Shinichi froze upon seeing the terrible trio staring at him with expectant eyes. Clearly, they wanted to go with him _now. Oh, darn. I was supposed to go see that crazy inspector again. Ah, well. Anyone is better than that guy. Even these annoying kids have their perks. _

He sighed as he reluctantly led the little brats out of class. "Be sure to call your parents first, all right?"

"I don't think they would have any reason to doubt your words, Shinichi. You're doing the right thing. Are you babysitting those kids?"

Shinichi winced. "Nah, they want to be detectives. I'm only gonna guide them around a bit. I have plans for this weekend. It is Friday, and KID said his heist would be on Sunday."

"Have a little fun instead of fooling around with musty old papers! But, Shinichi, can you bring me with you to the heist?"

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "Of course, but Sonoko has to stay behind."

"No, she wants to come and she will, Shinichi."

_Like she won't cause trouble there. I don't believe Ran at all on that note. I can't disagree with Ran. She's the one person I care about more than anything. _

"Ran, I need to ask you something. Do you...have anything you want to tell me? W-What I mean is...do you like anybody?"

Ran paused. "Yeah, I have somebody. Why do you ask?"

Shinichi's heart sunk in his chest then and there. "Well, I uh, wanted to say this to you now. I, um...really want to solve a case and have you watch me!"

"No thanks. Seeing all the fans swooning at your feet is enough for me. How many girls are you going to flirt with this time?" Ran scoffed.

"Only one. There's only one girl I like."

"Who is that?" Ran asked, her heart pounding in her chest.

"It's simple. I really like you-"

* * *

"Is she your girlfriend, Shinichi-onii-san? Go ahead and ask her out!" The fat boy said.

"You guys stop saying things like that!" Shinichi snapped, but his face gave away his emotions.

"Then why is your face red?" Mitsuhiko quipped.

"S-Shut up!" He yelled.

"Shinichi, don't be mean to little kids who don't know any better. Do you really...like me? I'm sure you mean as a friend, right?"

"Y-Yeah, that's what I meant. Forget I said anything at all." _Damn, those stupid kids ruined it. _

_Shinichi, is it possible that he...Shinichi really feels the same? Don't be silly. _

"So, first let's stop at my house-"

His phone rang then. "Hello?"

"_Is this Kudou Shinichi-san?" _A gruff voice asked from the other end.

Shinichi jumped.

_Oh no, it's the nightmare inspector! Act cool! _"Ah, yes, it is."

* * *

"_We need you over here, pronto! KID left us another message! Get your $$ over here_."

"W-Wait, I'm a little busy-"

"_Come over here now or else I hire someone else." _

"All right. I'll be over soon." Shinichi said as he closed his phone.

"Who was that?" Ran asked.

"Inspector Crazy. He wants me to help him with another KID note. Kids, go home."

Ran stared after Shinichi in bewilderment. "Well, should I go home to greet Otousan?"

"Some friend!" Mitsuhiko huffed.

"He's so cool!" Ayumi gushed.

"Fangirl." Both Genta and Mitsuhiko exclaimed.

* * *

Kaito was exhausted from another night of trying to get things ready for the heist, so he barely paid attention to his childhood friend Aoko until she was walking home with him.

"I met a guy who looked like you the other day, Kaito."

Kaito froze like a deer caught in the headlights. "What?"

"You heard me. He said he was your cousin. He often gets mistaken for you a lot. His name was Kudo Shinichi-"

"What? Where was this?" Kaito demanded, nearly throttling poor Aoko. "Where is he?"

"I met him on the train a few days ago. I don't know where he went." Aoko admitted.

Kaito dropped Aoko then. "Is there any way I can contact him?"

Aoko's eyes lit up. "I think he's helping out at the heist."

_So, the detective is going to play the role of the hero, huh? Well, then...everything's going as planned. _

"Do you think I can call him? What's his phone number?" Kaito asked again.

"Hang on. I'll call Dad first." Aoko said.

"Huh. That's odd. He's not answering his cell phone."

Suddenly, her phone rang again, abruptly cutting off whatever remark Kaito was about to make.

"Hello, Otousan? Ah, Kaito wants to speak to you. He wants to know the detective's phone number. The one who's helping you out. Okay, here it is. Tousan, be sure to catch KID for me!"

* * *

She handed Kaito a note, on which was printed a phone number. Kaito took out his and dialed the number. The phone rang a few times.

"_Hello, who is this?" _

"Meitantei-san, do you recognize this voice? It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

He heard the phone drop and then Shinichi came back on the line. "_Is it really you, Kaito?" _

"Yes, it is. I'm so glad I can hear your voice again, cousin."

Shinichi laughed. "_I take it you've heard of my career as a detective." _

"Yes. So, how are Aunt Yukiko and Uncle Yusaku?"

_"The same. Tousan's still flirting with women, and Kaasan is still getting mad at him. How's Chikage-oba-san?" _

"She's doing well. She really misses you, Shinichi. I heard you're going to the heist."

_"Yes. I didn't really want to, but Inspector Crazy dragged me into it." _

"Oh, don't mind him. He's always like that." Kaito assured.

_Please, Shinichi. Don't follow in my footsteps._

_"I have to go now, Kaito. He wants me to help him now. See you!" _

_Shinichi, you can't get dragged into my world. _

* * *

Somewhere in an alley, a person was running. A young woman hurried down the street, desperate to outrun her pursuer. But she couldn't. The man appeared. He was tall, with dark hair, and in his hands, he held a butcher knife.

"Well, lady, it's been fun, it's time for you to go up to heaven.." He licked his lips.

"No, I don't want to!"

"I'm sorry. You've pleased me enough!" The man stabbed the woman right in the chest. Ignoring her screams of protest, he stabbed her again in the arm, and then a few more times. She was dead.

He decided to have some more fun with her. Time to teach the girl a lesson. Women were such disgusting things. That was why, he thought as he grabbed his butcher knife, they had to be put in their place.

A few hours later, a passer-by noticed the stench coming from the alley and investigated. The police were called immediately.

Inspector Megure tried hard to keep from puking as he studied the corpse. This was one of the most brutal murders he had ever seen.

"This is horrible, Inspector." Takagi said, looking a little green himself. "Who would do something this depraved?"

Megure said quietly, "Only a human being is capable of such depravity, Takagi. Animals don't kill for fun."

The body was that of a young woman between the age of twenty-five to thirty-two. She had been stabbed, beaten upside the head, and lashed before her death. Afterward, she had been raped and then vivisected and left to rot in the alley.

"This makes the second victim of dismembering! We've got a serial killer on our hands, men."


	7. Chapter 7 The day before the heist

A/N:I am so sick of idiots in this world. Anyone else agree? The people in my life are so annoying and I can't stand them. Well, that's why the Internet is so cool!

Chapter 7 The day before the heist

Kaito sat in his room, looking over his notes for the heist tomorrow. He knew tomorrow was going to be a very important day. It was the day his cousin would officially start to chase his alter ego, and to be honest, Kaito wasn't very enthused about it.

Yes, tomorrow he would face off against the master detective Kudou Shinichi, at once his greatest adversary, and his worst nightmare; partly because of their emotional bond that remained after all these years. He still hated the thought of hurting his cousin, but he had to toss aside his feelings and don the mask of KID.

If he showed any emotions, Kudou Shinichi might leap upon that, and what happened if he discovered that his cousin was Kaitou KID? He'd most likely never be able to forgive him, and Kaito didn't want to see that look on Shinichi's face; the same scowl that most of Nakamori's men sent him, which meant that apparently he was a bad person. Didn't they know that sometimes you had to transgress the law a little in order to make things right?

_I look forward to challenging you and seeing all you have learned in our time apart, meitantei-san. But first I should meet him in person. _

Was he really sure he wanted to, though? Shinichi was just as intelligent as he was, and that in itself could pose a problem. He usually had no problems fighting against Inspector Nakamori because of how stupid the latter was, and the fact that his officers weren't really that smart, either. But with someone as intelligent as Shinichi, he would probe to be quite a dangerous opponent.

Hakuba Saguru was too arrogant and a lot of times he overlooked crucial information in his investigation to track down Kaito. However, Kudou Shinichi would make little to no mistakes. That was how he was. He was a perfectionist, so even if he found a flaw in his reasoning, he would always go back and correct it. Kaito remembered how, as a child, he had been fascinated by Shinichi's correct predictions on what would happen whenever he would read detective novels.

He would always say that he assumed that this person was the culprit, and later on he would turn out to be right. For a few years, Kaito guessed that maybe his cousin had possessed some sort of magical ability that helped him do that, but later he had just figured out that the latter was just very astute and perceptive. Of course, Kaito was perceptive, but they were more perceptive in different areas. For example, Kaito was very good at deceiving an audience with his magic tricks.

Kudo, on the other hand, was better at deducing the truth. He hated to lie. Both of them used their intelligence to their advantage. Kaito knew now that Shinichi wanted to know the truth about who had killed Kaito's father. That made him proud. He was glad that Shinichi hadn't forgotten about him or his dad. They both had the same goal in mind, but they were both doing different things to achieve it.

While Kaito was double-crossing the law (and his cousin at the same time), Shinichi Kudo was unwittingly becoming the enemy of his dear cousin by upholding it. Kaito knew that if they met now, Shinichi might very well figure out that he was KID. If there was anyone who would suspect Kaito of being KID, it was probably Shinichi. Shinichi had by far one of the sharpest minds he'd ever met, and that was why he had to be very careful with him as an ally.

A KID grin slid onto his face. "We'll just have to see about that, won't we, Yuki?" He said to a dove beside him, who just cooed and sat on his shoulder. "You remember my cousin Shinichi, don't you? No, of course you wouldn't. You were only a small bird then."

Sometimes Shinichi had assisted him with his magic, but for the most part, he had taken part in his detective work more often than help him with his magic. He didn't take it as seriously as Kaito did. A logical detective didn't really have time for things like that, he had said. Of course, back then Kaito had highly doubted that Shinichi would ever achieve his dream of being a detective. Now was when the reality of that situation sunk in.

* * *

Unlike most people, Shinichi had actually fulfilled his dream. He had become a detective. Kaito had merely assumed that he was going through a period of fantasy in his life. He, on the other hand, simply KNEW that he was going to be a magician. He knew it was in his blood, and his dad had taught him everything he knew. Sure, Shinichi had tried to convince him into being a detective, but his heart just wasn't in it. Magic was where his heart belonged.

He loved being able to concoct a fable and deceive his audience. That was part of the fun of being a magician. His cousin, on the other hand, preferred cold, hard facts. "I wonder how you're doing with the new note I sent you, meitantei-san. Have you solved it already?" He wondered aloud.

Well, knowing his intelligent cousin, he probably already _had. _

_I sure hope when we meet again that Shinichi doesn't bring any fish, otherwise...it'll be horrible. _He shivered at the thought of those disgusting, horrible creatures. Why did it seem like he was the only person in the world who actually hated the little freaks? Everyone else laughed at him for it, but it was the truth. He hated them with every fiber of his being.

Suddenly, the door opened and Aoko walked in. Instantly, Kaito hid his notes for the heist in a drawer and then turned to face her.

"What are you hiding behind your back, Kaito?" She asked warily.

"N-Nothing," Kaito lied.

"I was just thinking. You said you were looking forward to seeing your cousin soon, right? So why don't we go see him?"

Kaito jumped back. "Uh, Shinichi? See him right now?" He stammered nervously.

"Yeah!" Aoko cried. "I managed to get his phone number, and he got yours."

_Oh, crud. Not now. _

"Aoko, I'm in the middle of a big prank I'm working on and I really don't want him to bother me," He lied.

"Why not, Kaito? You've been talking about him all this time! I thought for sure that you really wanted to see him!"

_Yes, but not whenever I'm in the middle of a KID heist. He might suspect me, after all! _

Of course, he didn't bother to dare utter those thoughts aloud. "Do you think he'll want to go to the heist?"

A glint came in Aoko's eyes then. "You know, I could convince him to become an anti-KID fan."

Kaito suddenly found himself fearing for his life. Nobody was as scary as Aoko in her anti-KID phase. "Uh, are you really sure you want to do that? There are a lot of things that could go wrong, you know."

"Like what, Kaito? You support KID, don't you see that he's just a disgusting thief?"

"No, maybe he's doing it for a noble aim," Kaito whined.

"You and your dumb magic tricks blind you, Kaito. I highly doubt you can understand the truth behind my proposition."

"O-Of course I understand, Aoko! It's just that sometimes the law is wrong and you have to transgress it a bit! That's probably what KID thinks!" Kaito said nervously.

"You're not making any sense, you dumb magician. I didn't expect it to make any sense to someone like you, anyway." She sighed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Shinichi was at his house, juggling his soccer ball. Whenever he was doing that, it was a good sign that he was either really happy or really ticked off. Soccer was a good way for him to collect his thoughts together.

_What exactly was the meaning behind KID sending me that dumb note, anyway? I couldn't figure it out even if I wanted to. This is a pain. _

He bounced a black-and-white soccer ball in the air and kicked it again with his knee. "Why can't I wrap my mind around what that crazy thief is thinking?"

He sighed as he held the KID note in his hand and looked at it while he was bouncing the note. Ran sometimes called him crazy for being able to multitask, but it came naturally to him to do such things. He'd had the worst day of his life.

Earlier, he had to sit and listen to that crazy Inspector yell and yell at him until his ears bled simply because Shinichi had admitted to him that he couldn't figure out anything about the case.

_My ears are still sore from his yelling. Why's he so obsessed with KID, anyway? _

However, Shinichi realized that he'd been forgetting someone important. A certain brunette was sitting in his bedroom, watching him juggle the ball with a bored look on her face.

"Shinichi, can we do something else besides watch you juggle a dumb ball?"

"Oi, oi, Ran, soccer is necessary. Even Holmes had to do some sports-"

"Enough about Holmes! That could be a good torture tactic for you to use against the criminals you arrest, but please don't use it on me, Shinichi!" Ran cried.

"Why do you hate Holmes so much?" Shinichi cried.

"I don't! It's just that you talk about him too much," Ran said.

"But he's great!" Shinichi said. Upon seeing Ran cast a desperate look at him, he sighed and dropped the subject.

"Can you figure out what KID means in his note?" Ran asked. "I'm sure someone as smart as you could figure it out."

"Oi, oi, I can't wrap my mind around it."

"Why don't you go back to playing soccer instead of solving these mysteries?" Ran pointed out.

Shinichi hated this topic. Why did she always have to dwell on this one topic? It was always about how he shouldn't be solving cases because somehow it always took cases away from her dad.

He dropped the soccer ball and stared at her. "Ran, I don't need to play soccer. I need to solve these crimes for humanity's sake. Your dad barely does anything as it is besides drink alcohol and fall asleep. That's why I hate seeing you in that environment. It's probably why you spend so much time here with me," He said.

"Shinichi, don't say things like that!" Ran scolded.

"I hate seeing you suffer like that, Ran." He said slowly. She was always with him as much as possible, just to avoid seeing her dad's face. "When are you going to realize that he's really not going to amount to anything unless he pulls himself together and stops drinking? I really hate to see your dad like that."

"Shinichi, why are you talking like this? This doesn't sound like you!" She cried. She tried to pull his gums out before he whacked her hand away.

"Please don't, Ran. You've done that to me enough times in the past, Ran." Shinichi said, wincing slightly.

"Then please stop bad-mouthing my dad." Ran said sharply. "He's doing a good job of raising me."

"No, he isn't, Ran. You've just had to grow up on your own, haven't you? Just like me...that's probably why we bonded, you know?" Shinichi said softly. "Believe me, I know how it feels. I've had to deal with it for the past three years. Though the one who would understand that more than anybody would be Kaito, wouldn't it?"

"I don't like it when you talk about Kaito, Shinichi. You always get so sad when you do. So please, cheer up."

"I can't! Not when that dumb Inspector practically yelled my eardrums out!"

"You seem really angry, Shinichi. Is that why you're bouncing that ball around so much?"

"Yup. That's also due to the fact that I can't figure out what this dumb thief is thinking!"

"Kaitou Kid's not dumb!"

"Sure, Sonoko. He must be one of the most logical, rational people in the world to come up with a note this confusing." Shinichi deadpanned. "As if stealing is a logical way for him to show how sane he is. Face it, Ran. He's insane."

Ran only sighed.


	8. Chapter 8 Eye to Eye

**A/N:I'm really delighted to be here, updating this story again! I cannot wait to write KID meeting Shinichi, so that's one of the reasons I'm updating so early. Also, I cannot stop watching the newest incarnation of the Scooby Doo series:Mystery Incorporated, I believe it is called? It is so captivating, so well-written and so surprising that I find myself using my deductive skills all the time to try and figure out what will happen next. Wow, it's good all right! Just like this fanfic! Well, I try...KID is an awesome character, so he pretty much speaks for himself. **

**KID:That I do. **

**Shut up. Now, on to the story and enough prattling around about trivial, mundane things.**

* * *

**Chapter 8 The Thief and the Detective, eye to eye at last!**

The day was finally here, and Kaito was thoroughly worn out from all the work he'd had to do the past few days. He'd had to don disguise after disguise, travel through different stores, trying to obtain as much information as he could on this new gem that he was targeting. Still, he knew he had a lot of work left to do, so he couldn't bother to slack off.

He had only a few hours left to himself before he would have to sneak out to the location and get everything ready, so in that small interval of time allotted to him, Kaito was just relaxing and hanging out. He wondered if his cousin would show up tonight in order to challenge his alter ego, Kaitou Kid. The answer to that was probably yes.

Knowing Shinichi, he probably couldn't pass up the chance to meet the great thief.

This was something that the detective would want to go to. What better fun than to try to catch the world's greatest thief? Though, maybe his cousin would get bored by the entire thing. That sounded more like him. Shinichi tended to get bored when things weren't interesting enough to draw him in. This happened every time he read a book or watched a movie that was very predictable.

To interest his cousin, something had to be clever and unpredictable. Unpredictability was what Kaito lived for. To him, a mundane and boring life was just too dreary and tiresome to draw his attention. He also loved to see people smile, so what better way to fulfill that dream than by being the charismatic and handsome thief, KID?

Shinichi would probably strangle him if he had ever heard those words come out of his mouth. Kaito smirked. Just the thought of seeing his cousin try to catch his alter ego, and then fail...that brought a KID smirk onto his face faster than if he'd heard that fish had gone extinct.

_Show me what you've got tonight, Meitantei-san. I'll be waiting for you to show me your abilities...don't disappoint me. _

His cell phone rang all of a sudden. He picked it up and answered.

"Hello?"

* * *

_"Hey there, Kaito. I'm sure you know who this is." _

Kaito's jaw dropped. _Crap, why of all times, does he pick NOW to call? It's almost as if he suspects me-calm down, Kaito...the odds of that happening are close to none. _

_"Kaito?" _The voice asked, sounding uncertain. _"Are you still there?" _

Kaito took a deep breath. If he just relaxed and acted calm, he wouldn't suspect a thing.

"Ah, hello, my dear cousin. What did you call me about this time?" He asked smoothly.

His cousin sounded irritated. _"Would you like to come to the heist tonight that a Nightmare Inspector is making me go to?" _

"Huh? What heist?" Kaito asked, feigning stupidity.

"_You know, the heist done by the crazy Kaitou KID_," Shinichi said huffily. He did not sound like he was in the best of spirits, but to be honest, who would expect him to be? This wasn't a job that his cousin adored. He'd much rather hang around dead people than be around the living any day.

"Oh, yeah, _that heist. _Don't worry, everyone's been talking all about it," Kaito lied. _Though you will see me as the main event, cousin. I'll be sure to point you out to the crowd. _

"_Really now? You sure you aren't lying to me about anything?" _Shinichi asked sharply.

"As sharp as you ever were, my cousin. I'm lying, but it's something that doesn't concern you." Kaito said.

"_Really? My dear cousin sure seems distant from me these days. You don't seem willing to do anything with me lately," _Shinichi said sharply again.

"I want to, but Aoko's dragging me out to the heist tonight, so I have no choice but to go with her, so I'm sorry. I can't go with you today, okay?" Kaito said softly, in a voice that he only used with his cousin and other people he just couldn't resist giving in to.

"_I'm sure you know the Nightmare Inspector. Uh-oh, it seems like he's calling me now! I'll see you later!" _

Kaito grinned wordlessly upon hearing the phone click. "Yes, you will see me later, but you will see another I...Kaitou KID. Let's dance tonight in front of the moon, meitantei-san."

He was looking forward to tonight with great pleasure. One of his doves cooed and he stroked it with one hand before putting a message in its beak.

"Deliver this to the Police Headquarters in Ekota, all right? They need to know when I'll be coming. It's almost like a date, except most dates don't have the desire to put you behind bars." He joked to himself. He grinned and stared at his dad's portrait before he touched it with his hand, ready to unleash the other side of him.

That night...

* * *

The moon shone bright and clear over the heads of the public clustered around the outskirts of the art museum that was being engulfed by numerous policemen, all asking people to stay away and not come too close.

The public had come with plenty of things to stay out the night. Some had brought pillows and blankets to sleep on, while others had night vision on so they could observe the arrival of KID, even while others were wearing their pajamas and snoozing out of boredom. Young children were sitting on their parents' heads, watching for when their moonlight savior would arrive to ease them out of their boredom.

Their heads all turned at the sound of a voice, low and temperate. It came from behind them.

"Hello there, everyone. I am Kudou Shinichi, the detective who will be assisting Inspector Nakamori on this heist. I am glad to meet all of you," He introduced. A boy around seventeen or eighteen stood there, his cobalt eyes filled with nervousness, yet if one stared into them long enough, they would know that there was a hint of excitement.

"Mommy, he looks a lot like Kaitou Kid!" A little boy whispered excitedly.

Shinichi heard and smiled politely. "No, I'm not a criminal, sorry. I'm here from Beika to monitor the action and insure everything goes according to plan. Inspector Nakamori here is the one who will do most of the work tonight."

He shot a glare over at the said Inspector, who was now positively gloating. "Oi, oi, his ego already resembles the Goodyear Blimp; let's not have it swell up any more than that..." He remarked under his breath. He studied the police gathered. There seemed to be more than he remembered, for some reason.

* * *

One was standing there, fidgeting with his tie for some reason. That sort of behavior really set Shinichi's suspicions on edge. He had heard that KID had a propensity to disguise himself as a police officer. He moved to call out to the man, but he saw that the man had stopped doing it and was looking directly at him with nervous eyes.

"Ha...he saw me. I need to be more careful." Kaito whispered under his breath. He had just started to grow bored with the Inspector's usual pep talk/brainwashing ceremony and was just fiddling around with the tie he had stolen from a police officer who was now peacefully asleep in another room, when his cousin had noticed.

* * *

Things were going to be _really _hard now that his cousin was on the job. Saguru, at least, was a bit too unobservant and allowed little things to slip past his eyes, but Kudou Shinichi let nothing slip past his eyes. Therefore, if he wanted to play this part, he had to change costumes quickly or else let the detective's focus leave him.

He returned the latter's stare for a few moments before smiling and waving cheerily. The other just raised an eyebrow before he started to approach Kaito, who inwardly screamed and panicked as he tried to figure out what to do.

"Hey, there. What are you getting so worked up about? You're really suspicious, you know that?" Shinichi said sharply.

Sweat dripped down on Kaito's face from inside the mask. He was glad that he wasn't looking too close at his "face." This was getting really, really, bad.

"Really, sir? You must be that famous detective I've heard so much about. That's why I got all nervous-because I'm a big fan of yours." Kaito lied, trying hard to make it sound like a plausible excuse.

"Really now? Well, keep it together...and stop sweating so much. You act like you're hiding something..." He trailed off before he walked over to another officer. "Keep an eye on that one. He's acting quite peculiar."

The officer nodded his head. "He's gone, you know."

* * *

Shinichi turned around in alarm. Where had that officer gone to? _Shit. I almost had him, too!_

Blue eyes darted around wildly, trying to find the uniformed "officer" he'd just been speaking to. There was no sign of him. "That was him, wasn't it?"

* * *

Kaito cursed under his breath inside the museum as he changed disguises into his KID outfit. As he slipped his top hat on, something fell out of it. He picked it up and stared at it and his eyes widened. The thing in particular was a trinket that Shinichi had given to him as a gift when they were kids. There was a note attached to it that had Shinichi's handwriting on it from several years ago.

Even now, his handwriting still looked like chicken-scratch. He put on the monocle and a KID grin slid up his face as he attached his cape and waited for the signal to go off. A few seconds later, the signal for the officers to enter came in and he hid behind a wall.

"I know I saw him, Nakamori-keibu!" Shinichi's voice entered his ears.

He let out a sigh. He immediately regretted having done that, because the detective's head turned in alarm.

"I don't believe you, kid." Nakamori scoffed. "Even the dumb KID wouldn't mess up that easily."

"I'm serious...did you hear that sound just now?" Shinichi said.

Kaito cursed mentally and immediately scurried up the wall like a rat, making sure not to be seen as he did so. He made his way over to the next room and hid. He was aware of running footsteps going down the other hallway. Probably the other officers going in to check in on the other room and make sure the gem was still secure. Dang it, that was where he was headed next.

* * *

Shinichi frowned. He was positive he had heard someone breathing from up that wall. As he investigated, he thought he noticed scuff marks up on the wall, as if someone had just hurried up that wall a little while. He hurried down the hall, as quietly as he could manage. He could be quite sneaky if he wanted to be, but he was certain that no matter what he did, the quirky thief would become aware of him.

* * *

Kaito hurried off and checked the room for the jewel. It was right there, unguarded. The red glint of it made his eyes light up with glee. Maybe this one was the right one for him. Maybe after this one, he could put the mask aside and end this escapade.

"There you are." He said under his breath, and pulled a rope out of his bag and dangled it over the side and inched his way down carefully, making sure to get past the cameras. He succeeded for the most part.

However, he had barely grabbed the gem when a voice rang out, causing him to freeze and nearly drop the red gem. His right hand caught it.

"Ah, so we meet at last, Kaitou KID." That voice sounded quite triumphant. Almost like a cat cornering its prey after chasing it for a long time.

He turned to face his cousin, knowing without a doubt that the only one to follow his route would be him. Only his cousin would be that smart. "Ah, if it isn't the detective, Kudou Shinichi. To what do I honor this meeting? But as you see, I am in the middle of something important, so maybe we could talk later, meitantei-san..."

"Forgive me, but I think we'll talk now." Shinichi said smoothly. He kicked a soccer ball in his direction and accidentally knocked over an ornament. The ball missed, but only by mere inches.

Kaito jumped back and fired one of his cards at the detective, who dodged. Of course he would. This was the moment Kaito had been waiting to see:the two of them evenly matched like this. This was a once-in-a-life-time opportunity.

He turned away and climbed over to the other side of the room, only he didn't expect to slip and fall into a tank full of..._fish. _The fish all crowded around him in curiosity. One of them was a piranha, who bit onto his cape.

Kaito's eyes widened in horror as he struggled to get away from the horrible things. He nearly screamed as one of them bit his gloved hand and held on tightly. "G-Get off, you horrible little thing!" He yelped.

He managed to get most of them from him and he swam back up to the surface, but the stupid piranha kept on sinking its teeth into his arm. He cried out and this alerted the other officers who showed up and surrounded him in an instant. He threw the fish off and it landed harmlessly back into the tank, carrying a piece of his glove. He cursed as he aimed his card gun at the ceiling and slid back a panel and moved up into it in an instant.

Kaito headed onto the roof. He didn't expect a bullet to nearly hit him. He turned to see Shinichi standing there, holding a smoking gun, grinning.

"You're good, meitantei-san. You're really good."

"Now, game's over." Shinichi said as he aimed his gun again.


	9. Chapter 9 The Grand Escape

**A/N:I know, it's a corny title. I couldn't think of anything better. I love this story. ^^ So I will do my best to update it. The original was SORT OF like this, but it started out with a murder scene and it was really dumb and clichéd, so I decided to leave it out of this version. The words just flowed out of me when I wrote the first chapter. Think about playing "And I'm Home" from Madoka Magica while you read this. It will make for interesting reading. I prefer the male version, actually. **

* * *

**Chapter 9 The Grand Escape**

* * *

"Now...the game ends, Kaitou Kid-san," Shinichi said smoothly, aiming the gun at the elusive phantom thief. He noticed the thief tense slightly and a strange look pass across his face before it disappeared, settling on the neutral poker face he normally possessed. He couldn't help but smirk. This night had been more exciting than he had anticipated.

Of course, he wouldn't _kill _KID, he would merely incapacitate him or distract him until the police could show up and arrest him. Though a small part of him didn't want the elusive thief to be caught, for some reason. Something was strangely familiar about the masked thief. And that fear of fish he had...it was certainly unusual. The only person he knew with that fear was Kaito. But Kaito couldn't be KID...could he?

His eyebrows furrowed in suspicion as he pondered that thought for a bit before he shrugged, deciding to give up on that idea. As silly as Kaito may be, he wasn't stupid enough to go around stealing gems at night, dressed all in white. This wasn't his cousin, this was a potentially dangerous foe that posed a threat to the law. He had to be stopped.

"Meitantei-san, should you really point something like that at people?" The thief taunted, though he looked rather panicked.

"What happened to that poker face of yours, huh?" Shinichi remarked calmly, striding towards the thief, who backed away.

At the moment, Kaito was out of ideas. He was trapped. He couldn't figure out how to get away from this sort of situation. Shinichi was pointing a live gun at him and would most likely shoot him without a second thought. This was a bad situation, and he had to figure out something fast before he wound up behind bars and a grinning Nakamori would unveil his identity to everyone in the world.

He would not let that happen. But how could he attack his cousin, the one person who was most precious to him, above everyone else in the world? The two of them were like twins, they literally could not live without the other. But KID was a separate entity from Kaito Kuroba, and as such, that meant Kudou Shinichi was his enemy, no matter what Kaito thought, KID had to be the one in control.

He grinned slightly as he raised his own gun up. "This one's loaded, too," He said smoothly, tucking a piece of brown hair back with a gloved hand as he stood up, a confident smirk on his face that matched the detective's own. "Are you sure you want to provoke me, meitantei-san?"

Shinichi grinned. "That one's just an ordinary card gun, isn't it? However, this one...possesses REAL bullets. So, if I hit you, you will either die, or be injured. Which will it be? Will you relinquish the jewel you have in your pocket, or will you escape and make yourself an enemy?"

Kaito thought over the decisions in his head for a moment before a smirk made its way on his face. "Actually, I believe I'll take care of my business first, thank you very much."

To Shinichi's shock, he watched as the thief carefully pulled the red gem out and held it up to the moonlight. He studied it for a few moments.

"What are you looking for?" Shinichi asked in curiosity. Watching the thief now was almost surreal, it felt like a dream.

"Happiness. I don't like doing this. I only wanted to do this temporarily...but my goals haven't been met yet. So, until that time comes, I must don the mask of my alter ego, meitantei-san. I am looking to draw out some adversaries of mine so I can catch them myself. That is why I do what I do. What about you? What motivates you to catch criminals?" There seemed to be a glint in the boy's monocle as he eyed his foe.

Shinichi sighed. "To avenge a man's murder...a man I was close to and loved dearly like a brother. I originally started it all to find out who murdered him. I haven't found my answers yet." He said, unaware of how Kaito's face took on a shocked look for a moment.

'So, you never forgot about our dear uncle, huh, Shinichi? You still only think about my tousan. I'm sure he would appreciate that if he were still around. But this is a different territory I'm treading on; one where personal feelings do not mix with duty and honor.'

"Meitantei-san, it seems this one is not the one I seek, like always. Here, take it," KID said, much to Shinichi's surprise, and he tossed the small gem towards Shinichi. Unfortunately for KID, his aim wasn't exactly at an angle where Shinichi could catch it, and it fell to the ground and broke into a million pieces.

"Aw, crud," Kaito whined. 'This wasn't supposed to happen. That's the first time I've actually broken one of them. Now someone else is going to have to pay for the damage.'

A malicious smirk appeared on his face for a moment. "Meitantei-san, you will have to pay the bill. I'm off on my way home-" He paused as he realized Shinichi had his arm around him. "How did you?"

* * *

"I have my ways, Kaitou KID," He replied in that infuriating tone that ticked KID off. Why did he always know what he was going to do? "I won't let you release your glider."

Kaito grinned as he brought out a small pink ball. "I won't let YOU follow me, meitantei-san. Time for you to go to sleep." He smirked broadly upon seeing Shinichi gasp for a second before another smirk made its way on his face.

"I knew you'd try something like this, which is why I came prepared," He said before he held out a gas mask and put it on. "So much for your clever tactic, Kaitou KID-san. Are you ready to be arrested yet?"

Kaitou smirked. "You, my friend, should know that answer more than anyone." Kaito then pulled himself free of Shinichi's grasp and started to run away, only to be startled when a group of Nakamori's men surrounded him, armed with guns.

"Now is the day you finally get arrested, you crazy godd #%d thief!" Nakamori screamed, going into one of his infamous cursing rants, like he always did when he got too excited or angry.

KID smirked. "Good night, my dear inspector." He threw a smoke bomb in front of them and instantly they all fell asleep, save for Shinichi. He smirked. "They'll enjoy their nap for quite a while, eh?"

"I'm not finished with you." Shinichi said in a low voice. "What exactly are you after, and who are you?"

"Do you really wish to know?" Kaito said dangerously. "The truth may be too vicious for you to handle."

'Please, don't get involved any more than you have to, Shinichi. I care about you too much to let you get hurt.'

He smirked. "Adieu, meitantei-san. Sayonara for now."

He stretched out his glider even as Shinichi tried to stop him, but he silenced him with a hand to the cheek. "We'll meet again, meitantei-san...in more ways than one. Farewell, for now."

And with one flap of the glider, the ambiguous thief was gone.

Shinichi was left staring at the open window in astonishment. "That was certainly strange. What is with that thief, anyway? Why does he act so familiar with me, anyway?"

He frowned at the sleeping inspector, and shivered. 'I hate to be a coward, but I'd better get away before he wakes up. I'd hate to find out what he'd do to me if he finds out I failed to get KID.'

* * *

Ran watched the news feed on television, up to the point where Shinichi had pointed a gun at the mysterious thief, and her eyes widened in terror. Would her childhood friend really think about hurting the thief? No, her Shinichi wasn't like that at all.

Although he really looked attractive while he did that. It was kind of cool, seeing him with a deadpan face while he stared down the thief, but at the same time, it was really scary, too. It felt like she didn't know him anymore.

Why would her kind childhood friend point a gun at a thief? Even if he was breaking the law, somehow she knew he could be trusted. A part of her knew that Shinichi was wrong, and that he was doing everything he did for a good cause.

But would her friend really understand it if she explained her theory about KID to him? She highly doubted he would understand. His deductive mind might be sharp, but his mind was still too strongly inclined towards justice to really know what she meant. She could only imagine the look on his face if she would tell him.

He would probably scold her and call her an idiot for being so trusting in a dumb thief. Well, to be honest, there was a part to him that Ran couldn't help but trust and believe in. It was true what Sonoko said, there was a certain charisma about the man that made her want to believe in his genuine courage.

* * *

Snake grinned as he watched the news feed. He turned back to his other partner, a man with long, blond hair and cold, icy blue eyes. His eyes were like those of a wolf, watching the prey and toying with it before devouring it whole.

"So, what do you think?" Snake asked.

The blond grinned. "KID is certainly an interesting man. Is he after your organization, or mine?"

Snake shrugged. "We all have skeletons in our closet, don't we? Do you think he's the original?"

The blond frowned. "Hmm, if I had to venture a guess, I'd say the odds are highly unlikely. We successfully killed the original. Therefore, this one has to be a new KID. Find out who he is and report back to me on his identity."

"Yes, Gin. What of the detective?"

Gin shrugged. "Who cares about him? He's nothing but an insignificant little brat. As long as he keeps his nose out of our business, leave him alone. Children aren't my concern. He's too stupid to figure out anything. For now, let's set our sights on this KID." A predatory smile crossed his lips.

'I wonder who you really are, KID. I'd really love to see the look on your face when I cut you up.'

* * *

A woman ran down a street, desperately trying to outrun her pursuer. She held onto her young child's arm; a boy around five or six, who was also glancing back anxiously.

"Mommy, who was that mean man? Why'd he try to hurt us?" He asked, but the mother shushed him.

"Don't make noise. He'll hear us and attack. He's just a mugger. We'll just give him our belongings and he'll probably run off," She whispered.

"I'm afraid I'm not satisfied with only material goods," A new voice said. A man with dark hair stepped out, wielding a huge cleaver. A sadistic smirk was on his face. "Would you like to meet the death god now?"

"No, spare my son!"

The man frowned and then raised an eyebrow upon seeing the young boy huddled by his mother's side. He turned away for a moment. "I don't kill children. I'll let him live. However, you must die."

"What do you have against me?" She cried. "What have I ever done to you?"

"Let's just say that a long time ago, a woman I loved cheated on me, and ever since, I've wanted to rid the world of those filthy women! You're next." The man said. He pulled a gun out and put a silencer on it. "Time to die. Look away, kid."

The boy shut his eyes tightly as the shot echoed through the alley. The boy screamed as his mother's lifeless body hit the ground in front of him.

"Why did you hurt her?" The boy cried.

"My parents were also killed by criminals. It's ironic. I've now become a criminal myself, kid. I'll let you go." The man said before walking away, leaving the sobbing boy for the police to find.

* * *

"It's him again. He struck again," Megure said seriously. "I can't believe it...this is the sixth victim. Unusually enough, he left a witness alive."

He sighed. "It looks like we'll be needing the help of Kudou Shinichi again."


	10. Chapter 10 First meetings

**A/N:It's time for another update of this story! I mean, I think it's about time I updated, isn't it? I now have 50 alerts on this story. 50 freaking alerts is a lot if you know what I mean. **

* * *

**Chapter 10 Inquiries **

Shinichi flinched as he stared at the phone he was talking on. A certain Inspector was yelling at him for failing to capture the said phantom thief. Shinichi didn't know why, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to shoot the thief. What had come over him then, anyway? A criminal was a criminal, and KID was no different from any other one he'd ever arrested, so why the hesitation?

Nakamori's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Kudou, listen to me when I'm talking, dammit! You've spaced out for too long! Tell me, WHY did you fail to catch KID?" Nakamori boomed.

Shinichi jumped briefly at all the...colorful language he was using. "Oi, oi, Nakamori-keibu, I can explain. I don't know why I hesitated...I just froze up."

"So, you just froze up, huh? I saw you speak to him. Are you in cahoots with him?" Nakamori said suspiciously.

"No, but on the other hand, I learned that he methodically steals jewels. He doesn't just randomly steal them. I talked to him, but I couldn't understand some of what he said. I got some hints from him, though," Shinichi said, smirking broadly. How would the persnickety inspector react to this bait?

Much to his surprise, the old man chuckled broadly.

"Well done, kid. You're a pretty good detective. I didn't have any clue as to why KID was stealing jewels at all. I didn't even think he had any motives behind it. I'm beginning to like you."

"So does that mean you'll overlook me allowing him to escape?" Shinichi teased.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha..._NO, of course not. _You said KID talked to you for a few moments. What did you two talk about?"

Shinichi frowned as he recalled the brief but interesting conversation he'd had with the phantom thief shortly before he had flown away. "He said he's searching for something and he dropped the jewel."

Nakamori sounded fascinated. "Go on."

"I didn't find out who he is, but I believe that he may be extremely young. He's definitely not an adult."

"Interesting...so, do you think we should examine all the teenagers in this area?" Nakamori said, grinning on the other end, though Shinichi couldn't see it.

* * *

Shinichi smirked upon hearing this. He was really starting to like this ojisan, though his rants about KID were very, _very _annoying. However, the idea of getting to track down an elusive phantom thief and trap him like a mouse in a cage was, while very exciting, somehow he disagreed with this notion.

A part of him wanted the thief to go free...for some strange reason, he felt compelled to voice these thoughts, but he suppressed them.

Nakamori seemed pleased. "I look forward to working with you again in the future, Kudou-kun. By the way, next time-don't lose your aim!"

Shinichi sighed as he put down the phone. "Well, at least that's over with. Now, how should I deal with that other problem-those murders that Megure-keibu wanted me to work on, wait a second, I feel like I'm forgetting something."

He turned to his calendar, and his eyes widened at the date. "Oh, crap, my music test is tomorrow! I know I'm going to do badly!" He sighed and put his head in his hands. "Now what?"

* * *

It was a peaceful Monday morning in Ekota High School-actually, no that was a lie. The whole school was abuzz with the latest events on the KID heist that happened the day before. Now Kudo Shinichi had become the focus of the school. Everyone in Ekota knew his name as a result of his actions in the heist.

Everyone spent so much time talking about KID and Shinichi's confrontation that eventually the teachers grew exasperated and had to actually order their students to be quiet multiple times before everyone gradually calmed down, secretly wishing they were as cool as those two.

"What did you think of KID, Aoko?" Keiko, Aoko's closest friend asked, peering at said brunette, who looked visibly irritated, and gulped. Had she gone on her friend's bad side? It was a known fact that Aoko was one of the only KID haters in the school, and everyone knew it.

Aoko's face was beet-red in anger and she stomped her foot on the ground. "I'm sick of hearing all this blind praise for that-for...that..._villain! He's _causing chaos in the world and stealing! How can you guys even support a guy like that?"

"Someone's just jealous of the fact that Kudou Shinichi didn't pay attention to her," Koizumi Akako said suavely. She turned her purple eyes to Kaito, who was fast asleep, drooling all over his test paper. "Hey, wake up, Thief-san," She hissed.

Instantly, Kaito shot up in horror and backed away from her. "Oh, it's just you, Koizumi."

Akako smirked. "So, how was the meitantei? Was he as powerful as I suspected?" She whispered.

A serious look came on his face then. "Baka, I can't fight my own cousin."

Aoko blinked upon seeing her childhood friend looking serious...it just didn't fit him. She waved her hand in front of his face. "Kaito-kun, is the world ending?"

"Hah, what the heck does that mean, Bakoko?" Kaito replied before disappearing and reappearing next to her. "Nice, bright white panties...where'd you buy them at?"

"KAITO, YOU PERVERT!" Aoko screeched before bopping him on the head.

"What, are you scared of me now or something?" Kaito taunted.

"You're just jealous that your cousin is fighting KID and you aren't, bakaito!" Aoko cried, causing everyone to gasp.

Everyone stared at him for a few moments.

"No way...you're related to _the Kudo Shinichi?" _

_"_That's why you look so much alike!"

"Is he single? He's cute!"

"Can we meet him? Bring him here!"

Kaito flinched. "Uh, no...I'm sorry. I'm not in contact with him very much."

Everyone grew sad.

"But, I'm sure he'd be interested in going out with a few girls!" He said suavely.

A few girls got nosebleeds, while others blushed deeply. Even a few guys looked genuinely excited.

"He's rather cute," One of his male classmates said, which caused half of the girls to look at him in amusement.

"Now's not the time to come out!"

"My, what naughty young ladies we have here!" Kaito joked.

"You're the epitome of innocence, Kaito?" Aoko said sarcastically. "Since when?"

"Since just five minutes ago!" Kaito exclaimed. "So, how about it? Would you call me a master magician?"

* * *

"I'd call you a drama queen," A new voice said. Kaito froze upon seeing a familiar blond boy glaring at him.

"Oh, look, if it isn't Mister Malfoy!" Kaito mocked. A few students tittered.

"Hello, there, Kuroba!" Hakuba Saguru said, pouting. "That dumb kid beat me to that thief!"

"Oh, are you jealous of my cousin?" Kaito taunted.

"He's related to you, Kuroba? That doesn't make any sense! You don't act related at all!"

Kaito imitated his cousin's voice then. "Barou..."

"Kaito, how can you do that?" Aoko cried, amazed at the fact that her friend hadn't told her about this talent.

He stared at her like a deer caught in the headlights. "Hah, bakoko, didn't I tell you already that I taught myself how to imitate my voices to impress my cousin when I was younger?!"

"Is that the truth, Kaito-kun? Tell me, was your cousin always as cute as he is today, or did he have help in order to become like that?" A girl gushed.

**A/N:IMO, Shinichi is very, very...**_**cute. Anyone else agree? **_

"How did you two first meet?" Another gushed. "Was it a fateful meeting between two star-crossed lovers-?"

"No, knock it off with the cheesy expressions! We were only six years old when we first met-I remember it well. Kaasan promised to introduce me to a new friend, and we met each other then.

* * *

_"Kai-chan, come here, come and meet your Uncle Yusaku," His mother held Kaito by the hand as he walked him towards a grinning black-haired man with blue eyes. Kaito found himself both fascinated and scared of the new person._

_"It's okay, Kai-kun. Here's your cousin, Kudou Shinichi-kun. You two be nice to each other."_

_Kaito saw a small brown-haired boy with spiky hair peer out from behind his mother's leg before turning away, his nose buried in a book._

_"Shin-chan, you stop reading and come say hello to your cousin!" A blond woman exclaimed before taking the book from Shinichi's hands and turning him to meet Kaito. His blue eyes were full of boredom._

_"Okaasama, can we go home now? I'm bored and I wanna read what happens next in the book," The boy whined._

_"No, this is your cousin, Kuroba Kaito-kun. You two have never met before, right?" Yukiko said, urging her six-year old son to come out and study the new foe._

_Kaito waved at his cousin, who blinked before he yawned._

_"You're boring," Shinichi said._

_Kaito stuck his tongue out at the future detective. "You're mean, and short!"_

_A vein pulsed on Shinichi's head. "Well, I'm not skinny! I eat fish to be more lean-"_

_"Don't mention fish! It's the worst thing that's ever walked on the earth!" Kaito cried._

_"Don't you mean swam in the ocean, idiot?" Shinichi snarled, coming closer to his cousin, as they circled each other like hounds._

_Kaito hissed as he stared down his enemy before they started to punch each other. Both were immediately pulled away from each other by their mothers and scolded. The next time they met, things became a little better._

They were still fighting until the fourth time they had met, when Shinichi had hugged Kaito after a fight between Kaito's parents had broken out and he had been scared, so he ran away and hid somewhere. Shinichi had found him crying and simply hugged him, telling him that they would always have each other.

That had rescued Kaito out of his depression and caused him to bond with his unruly cousin. From then on, they were inseparable. They always hung out together after school, always helped each other with their homework, and always talked to each other (unless they fought, which became less frequent the closer they became.) So, more or less, Kaito told them a few anecdotes of how he and Shinichi had befriended each other and how their relationship had become so strong that they seemed more like best friends than cousins.

"Are you sure you aren't...you know?" One girl snickered.

Kaito's eyes turned wide. "No, you sicko. We're related. What's wrong with you?"


	11. Chapter 11 The new student

**A/N:Hello, all! Today I have time to update a story rather early! I figured I'd go with this one. The server's a little haywire today, isn't it? **

**Chapter 11 A New Student? **

* * *

The day of the music test arrived all too soon for Shinichi. He awoke early in the morning and realized that he hadn't even studied at all last night, because as soon as he had gotten home, he had fallen asleep because he was so worn out from the KID heist.

Now, he hurriedly ate his breakfast and headed out for school. Frowning, he stopped as his phone rang and he answered. "Hello?"

"_Hey, there, meitantei-san! How are you?" _

His eyes widened. "K-Kaito? How did you get my number?"

"_Bakoko gave it to me. Say, cousin, how've you been?" _

Shinichi shrugged. "Same old, same old. How about you?"

"_Nothing much." _

Shinichi smirked upon hearing his words. "Yeah. I have to get going to school, so I'll see you later!"

* * *

He froze upon hearing footsteps behind him. He turned to see three familiar kids following him. _Not them again...can't they get the hint and leave me alone? _

He turned to greet the three nuisances and smiled awkwardly. "Hello, you three. Is there anything I can do for you guys?"

"We want to go to your school and see you in action!" The fat one exclaimed.

"Sensei said we could go visit you!" The freckled one added. "Plus, what's cooler than seeing an ace detective in action?"

"True." Shinichi agreed. He patted their heads while inwardly urging them to just go away and leave him alone, unfortunately, they wouldn't go away that easily, he knew. "However, I doubt your teacher really gave you permission to sneak away. Did she really, or are you just making that up?"

All three of them froze upon hearing that comment, which gave Shinichi his answer. 'Bingo,' He thought triumphantly. It looked like his deductive skills were right once again, though when weren't they? He had always prided himself on his abilities-and he was right again.

"Um, I think she said we would yesterday, right, Genta-kun?" The freckled one said before flashing a nervous stare at his partner, who nodded.

"Yeah, she told us we could!" He said, but Shinichi could tell he was lying as soon as the words flew out of his mouth.

Just then, Kobayashi-sensei came down the street, and her eyes lit up upon seeing Shinichi and the three rascals. "There you three are! How dare you run off without telling me! We all got so worried-oh, Shinichi-kun, are you late for school?"

"Yeah, I woke up around twenty minutes ago. I know it's after nine o'clock, but I stayed up late last night working on a case and I suppose I just kept on sleeping and ignored my alarm like that." He said meekly. The last thing he wanted to see was an angry Kobayashi. She had punished him plenty of times in class for sleeping when he wasn't supposed to, or reading instead of paying attention, and he doubted that she would condone that even now.

"Just make sure you head to school. Even if you ARE a famous detective, you still need your education." She chided gently. She turned her sharp gaze onto her naughty pupils. "Now, you three will come with me!"

"But we wanna stay with Kudo-sannnnnn!" The trio whined.

"No more whining! We have important work to do, you hear? You head to class now, Shinichi-san!" She said before waving and leaving with her three miscreants behind her.

"Great plan that was!" Ayumi whined. "We didn't even get to see what his school looked like!"

"Got any better ideas?" Genta said when they were back in the classroom.

"You three, stop talking and pay attention!" Kobayashi scolded. She didn't know what her three naughtiest pupils were up to, but she didn't like the way they were whispering conspiratorily to each other. It set her on edge. "If you're planning to sneak off again, the answer is no, you will stay in class and pay attention! You have a test tomorrow!"

"Haiiiiiiii..." They all droned in boredom.

* * *

Shinichi did as well on the music test as he expected to, which wasn't that stellar. He completely failed it because of the fact that they had to sing in a group, and his voice was completely off-key. He had tried to tell the music teacher hundreds, if not thousands of times before, that his voice was not that great, and that it shouldn't matter whether or not he could sing, he had perfect pitch.

She hadn't listened, though, and had taken points off for his horrible singing voice. Everyone hated his singing voice, and he knew that. To make matters worse, Sonoko had started making fun of him in class until an angry Ran had reprimanded her, but Shinichi knew she would start up later at lunch.

He trudged to the lunch table and sat down, flicking a piece of his school lunch off the tray in boredom. He had been in a grouchy mood all day, and Ran had been bearing the brunt of his anger. However, that didn't matter that the fangirls hadn't learned their lesson-they were still bugging him to no end. A few were crowding around him now.

"Hey, Kudou-san, it doesn't matter if you suck at singing, you're still number one in our hearts!" One girl, a senior, chirped.

Shinichi scowled. "Go away."

"Shinichi isn't really in the mood to be bothered right now." Ran said, sticking up for her childhood friend in her own way, which caused him to smile a little.

"You're just jealous that he has fans and you don't. Share your boyfriend a little bit!"

Ran blushed. "You mind your own business!" She shouted back, and the fangirls backed off reluctantly before returning to their respective seats. She knew they would try again later, much to Shinichi's annoyance. "Are you all right, Shinichi?"

He grunted in response, which annoyed her.

"Answer me, Shinichi." She urged.

"No, I'm not." He answered. "Do you honestly think I would be after being humiliated like that in music by Sonoko?"

"Sonoko-chan didn't mean anything by it." Ran reassured, but Shinichi chuckled.

"The day when Sonoko apologizes is the day I die and Kaito stops being afraid of fish."

Shinichi felt someone tap him on the shoulder then. "What?" He snapped.

* * *

"Yo, meitantei-san, how are you?" A new voice said.

Shinichi turned around to see Kaito, holding a lunch tray. "How did you-"

"Okaasan was worried about you and decided that I should transfer here to keep an eye on you and make sure you're all right. How've you been?" Kaito said cheerily.

Shinichi smiled. "Fine, except for the test this morning. I failed."

"That's not surprising. Your voice isn't the best, but at least you tried!" Kaito reassured. The two of them fell into a long and interesting conversation, until Sonoko interrupted.

"Well, if it isn't the person who failed music again because his voice sounds like a crow!" She said as she sat down.

"Leave me alone!" Shinichi growled. "She's been harping at me all day about this." He added to Kaito.

Kaito shot a frosty stare at her. "Leave him alone. While Shinichi does sing like a crow, the last thing he needs is someone picking on him about it, got it?"

Sonoko's jaw dropped. "But he needs to be scolded once in a while."

Kaito nodded to Shinichi. "Let's sit somewhere else."

The two of them got up and moved to another table, much to Sonoko's shock.

"Who is that?"

"That's Shinichi's cousin." Ran explained. "They've been friends since they were little."

"Oh." Sonoko said quietly. Clearly, she hadn't been expecting this. "He's too overprotective."


	12. Chapter 12 Catching up

**A/N:I know it's been a little while since I last updated this story, right? I was planning to update the next chapter, but my laptop broke and I can't get it fixed so I have to use another computer to type this chapter up. I'm so sorryyyyyyy, guys! I really wanted to update, but that and other things got in the way. Finally working on a new PH video. Sony Vegas unfortunately is not on the computer I'm using. Boo-hoo, how I hate Windows. It hates me back. I know it for Shinichi reacting to Aoko, well he has a Ran-dar. He knows when people act like Ran and she scares him to death.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 12 Catching up**

Shinichi Kudo laughed as he smiled and talked with his cousin. It was still so hard for him to believe that he was actually talking to his cousin again, in person. He was afraid he was merely dreaming all of this and that he would wake up to find Kaito gone and be all alone again.

"Kaito, this feels like a dream," Shinichi whispered, but Kaito caught his remark all the same. The brown-haired magician heard anyway, and tilted his head in confusion.

"Sometimes I feel the same way, meitantei-san, but look around us. Is this not enough to tell you that you are not dreaming? Our scenario is real, the food we are eating is real...well, I'm not so sure about the food...but other than that..." Kaito trailed off while absent-mindedly spearing a piece of meat with his fork.

"Meitantei-san? When did you come up with that dorky nickname for me, Kaito?" Shinichi asked.

"What? You don't like being called the great detective?" Kaito said in disbelief.

"It's just that it's sort of weird...seeing as you're not the only one who called me that...didn't KID also call me that-"

* * *

Shinichi paused, then and there, mid-sentence. He dropped his fork on the tray and his mind struggled to comprehend just where he was going with that statement. The only other one who had called him that...was Kaitou KID...right? A mental image in his mind formed of the phantom thief as he tried to recall the fleeting conversation he'd had with the magical pain-in-the-neck thief before he had flown off into the night.

"_Meitantei-san, should you really point something like that at people?" _

Shinichi's eyes widened then as he stared back at Kaito, a new idea forming in his mind-and a most unpleasant one, at that. If Kaito used that name for him, was it possible that Kaito was the famous phantom thief he had nearly shot down a few nights ago? How was that possible, though? Kaito would never betray the law and steal, but he was quite good at magic.

What had KID looked like under the top hat, anyway? He hadn't exactly gotten the best view of him, but his eyes were blue, if not purple, maybe.

"Meitantei-san, what are you doing?" Kaito said in curiosity. Normally his cousin didn't space out like this unless there was a reason behind it. The reasons he would become like this...well, he probably didn't want to know what the boy was thinking.

"Kaito, are you KID? You address me in the same manner, you're as good at magic as he is, and your eyes are the same color. KID was afraid of fish, too," Shinichi said slowly before his eyes narrowed at Kaito, who looked at him in shock.

Inwardly, Kaito was horrified. How the _hell _had he figured that out so fast? If he didn't figure out something to say now-something to deflect his acute mind from that idea-Kudo would probably arrest him on the spot if he had to. Though maybe he would hesitate a bit...nah, when it came to the law and law enforcement, Shinichi was stern and unrelenting.

"What the heck are you talking about, Shinichi? He and I don't look anything alike! Besides, wouldn't you say KID's gotta be older than we are?" Kaito said, trying hard to toss him out of his serious state.

Shinichi's blue eyes flashed dangerously. "Really? Here, Nakamori-keibu and I figured out that he must be younger than that...he's probably around our age, too," He deduced.

Sweat dripped down Kaito's forehead. His cousin was getting too close for comfort to the truth. "Maybe you're just mistaken. You've probably seen too many cases and solved so many that somehow you think everyone sounds like everyone!" He said, attempting to confound his cousin.

His cousin quirked an eyebrow. "Barou, what the hell's with that?"

"Speaking of which, why don't you invite Mouri-san over here?" Kaito said before pointing a finger at a certain brunette, who was watching with barely disguised envy. Her friend was glaring at both of them now.

"This is _my_ time with _you,_" Shinichi whined.

"Is it just me, or are you in love with me? You've been making funny faces at me ever since I got here."

"Barou...why the hell would you assume that! I haven't seen you for nearly seven years!" Shinichi cried, his face red in annoyance.

"Oh, _maybe I was mistaken_! The way you sprang over here _like a puppy_ headed for its mate...I must've mistaken the look on your face, then." Kaito teased. Sure enough, his cousin forgot about KID and all was forgiven. Shinichi looked like he was going to strangle Kaito, but then he started to laugh.

* * *

Ran just watched the two interact with each other. She knew she wanted to be there with Shinichi, laughing and talking and yet somehow she knew she wasn't meant to interfere with Kaito and Shinichi's bonding time. The two of them hadn't seen each other in years, whereas she had seen him most of her life.

"Ran-chan, go over there and say hello to your husband!" Sonoko hissed.

The brunette shook her head. "I don't belong. It's their time together."

Sonoko shook her head and placed her hands on Ran's shoulders. "No, now is your time to re-affirm your love for your husband and take him from your rival!"

"R-R-Rival?" Ran stammered, wondering where Sonoko came up with half of her wild ideas.

Sonoko walked Ran over to Kaito and Shinichi's table and went back over to her table. "I would join in if I wasn't excluded." She whined.

This caused Kaito to glare at her. "If you hadn't ridiculed my cousin, I think we would be friends."

She sulked then.

Ran tried to talk to Shinichi, but something seemed off with him today. He was lost in his thoughts, and half of the time, he didn't even respond to her. He seemed preoccupied with something. It annoyed her when he didn't tell her what was wrong.

"Shinichi," She said slowly, "Tell me what's wrong."

The lunch bell had just rung and all the students were getting up. Kaito followed after Shinichi, smiling at everyone he saw and chattering up a storm.

* * *

"So, what class do you have next, meitantei-san?" Kaito said before holding his cousin's hand.

His cousin blushed. "Hey, you, don't get so close! What will people say? You especially shouldn't do this in front of Ran!"

Ran blushed. "Why not, Shinichi?" She stared at him with questioning eyes.

"It's not like I'm gay or anything!" He cried.

"Who _cares_ what they think...?" Kaito purred. However, he let go of Shinichi's hand when he heard feminine giggles come from down the hall. "Whatever is that unearthly racket?"

"Fangirls," Shinichi said, shaking slightly.

Ran knew now wasn't the time to talk to him and headed off to her next class.

* * *

Instantly, a sea of girls crowded around the two young men.

"KUDO-SEMPAI!"

"KUDO-SEMPAI, MARRY ME!"

"KUDO-SEMPAI, YOU WERE AWESOME AGAINST KAITOU KID!"

"Ah, ladies, please, single file-" Shinichi pleaded, but the girls were getting a little too _close_ for comfort now. He didn't expect to be pulled aside by Kaito.

"Pardon me, ladies, but my name is Kuroba Kaito, and I am Kudo Shinichi's cousin. Wouldn't you like to give _me_ some love?" He popped out a few roses and handed them to a few girls.

"KYAAAAA, KAITO-SEMPAI!"

"KAITO-SEMPAI, MARRY ME!"

_Oi, oi, talk about easily influenced. _

Shinichi couldn't help but wonder how on earth his cousin was so charismatic. He figured it was better to not question some things and just go along with them.

* * *

The second Shinichi left school, Kaito forced him to go over to his house and meet his aunt again.

"Okaasan's been dying to see you." Kaito whined as he knocked on the door and waited for it to open.

Instantly, a woman appeared. "Kaito-kun, you're late again! My god...is it really you, Shinichi-kun?" She said as her eyes fell on Shinichi.

"Chikage-obasan, it's been a while!" Shinichi said.

"Did you say _obaasan?" _She said threateningly.

"No, I said _obasan," _Shinichi said demurely. _She's every bit as scary as I remember. _

"Good!" She said as she embraced Shinichi in a bear hug. She ignored Kaito. "Oh, Aoko-chan, come say hello to Kaito and his friend!"

Aoko appeared, holding a huge salmon in her arms. Kaito's face turned five shades of green and then he started to shiver. Shinichi grinned wickedly the second he saw the fish.

"Hey, Bakaito, I'll force-feed you this fish-oh, hi there, Kudou-san!" She said, smiling the instant she saw Shinichi.

Shinichi plastered a nervous smile on his face. _This girl not only looks like Ran-she acts like Ran, too. _


End file.
